GAME NOTES
QUICK STATS
Season Series: 2-1-0
Playoff All-Time Record:
Series: 6 Series (3 wins, 3 losses)
Games: 31gp (15-16)
Leading Scorer:
PHI - Travis Konecny (24g-37a): 61 pts
MTL - Tomas Tatar (22g-39a): 61-pts
1. THE FLYERS BUBBLE...
The Flyers are one of only two teams to have won all four games they have played since entering the bubble (Vegas)... They did not trail at any point and outscored their opponent by a 14-5 margin... In the three-game Round Robin the Flyers did not allow a goal in the opening period and allowed just ONE goal in the third period (T-1st in NHL) against all three teams above them in the regular season standings... The Flyers also received scoring from eight different players, none of which were the Top 5 goal scorers of their regular season... Scott Laughton led the Flyers and was the only Flyer to score in all four games of the Return to Play, posting six points (4g-2a).
2. THE CANADIENS BUBBLE...
The Canadiens enter the First Round having already gone through a playoff series with a 3-1 series win over the Pittsburgh Penguins... In that series, the Habs defense recorded a total of 10 points (4g-6a) in the four games, which accounted for 40% of their offense... All 10 of their goals were scored at even strength... D-man and team captain, Shea Weber, led the team in scoring with four points (2g-2a) in the four-game series... Montreal scored the first goal in all three of their wins and dropped their only game when allowing the first goal... The Habs led all teams in the Qualifier & Round Robin for the most hits (171), which was a full 25 more hits than the next closest team, and ranked 4th with the most blocked shots (73).
3. RANDOM ONES
Per the NHL, the team that wins the Game 1 of a best-of-seven series goes on to win the series 478 of 697 times (68.6%)... The Flyers have an all-time record of 32-39 in Game 1's and have won 23 of 32 series when winning Game 1, and have lost 24 of 39 series when losing Game 1... They have dropped six of their last eight Game 1's, including their last three... Both teams failed to score on the power play in the Round Robin or Qualifier Series with the Flyers going 0-for-11 and Canadiens going 0-for-12... The defense pairing of Philippe Myers (+6) and Travis Sanheim (+5) combined for a +11 rating, while the Montreal pairing of Shea Weber (+5) and Ben Chiarot (+6) also combined for a +11.
4. PAST & PRESENT
Since the NHL's original expansion in 1967, the Canadiens have the most wins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (266) with the Flyers ranking third (224)... This is the seventh all-time playoff meetings between these two and first since the 2010 Conference Final which the Flyers won in 5 games (4-1)... Of the six previous series, none have gone past six games and the Flyers have won three of the last four... These teams finished their season series with the Flyers winning twice, but the Habs secured a point in all three games, going 1-0-2, dropping both games in overtime... Eight different Flyers scored all eight goals and six Flyers had two points, while Tomas Tatar had three goals and five points in the three games and Phillip Danault had five assists and was a +4.
5. PLAYERS TO WATCH
FLYERS (G: #79 - Carter Hart)
Not including the exhibition game, Hart has won 13 of his last 16 starts dating back to Jan. 8 of the regular season, posting a 1.94 GAA and .933 save percentage with a 13-3-0 record... He went 2-0-0 in the Round Robin, allowing just two goals on 59 shots and stopped all 26 shots he faced in the third period... Hart won his only start against Montreal this year, stopping 22 of 24 shots
CANADIENS (G: #31 - Carey Price)
Price led the NHL for most starts in net this year (58) and was T-5th for the most wins, posting a 27-25-6 record and earned 87% of the Canadiens wins this season (27 of 31)... Price posted a 1-0-1 mark this year against the Flyers with a 1.98 GAA and .952 save percentage... Over the last five seasons, Price has posted an 8-2-2 record against the Flyers with a 2.23 GAA and .930 save percentage.
