POSTGAME 5: Top Dogs!

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED

The top-seeded Philadelphia Flyers will play the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The matchup was set up as a result of the Flyers 4-1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday in the final game of round-robin play.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel tallied his first and second career NHL postseason goals with a deflection tally at 7:40 of the first period and then a 2-on-1 goal at the 14:00 mark. Tyler Johnson and Joel Farabee traded off tallies in the second period as the Flyers took a 3-1 lead to the locker room. Tyler Pitlick added some extra insurance late in regulation.

Carter Hart was not tested much in terms of quantity but he had to make several critical saves at key junctures in stopping 23 of 24 shots. Andrei Vasilevskiy played well in a losing cause, stopping 26 of 29 Philadelphia shots.

TURNING POINT

Hart's breakaway save on Nikita Kucherov and the way the Flyers turned a Tampa turnover into Aube-Kubel's first goal of the game turned the early tide and set Philly up for a dominant first period. Once ahead, Philly never relinquished their control.

MELTZER'S TAKE

* The Lightning had the early pressure in the first period, and the deadly Nikita Kucherov broke through for two golden scoring opportunities. He hit the crossbar on the first and was denied on a five-hole attempt on a breakaway on the second. Thereafter, apart from Hart having to stop an Alex Killorn shorthanded breakaway off a Travis Konecny turnover, the Flyers were like a buzzsaw in building a 2-0 lead and a 20-6 shot advantage.

* Victor Hedman appeared to get injured as he fell down defending Tyler Pitllck on what started as a 2-on-2 rush, and became a 2-on-1. Hedman subsequently had to leave the game. The Flyers fourth line alone had three scoring chances in quick succession at one juncture.

* Vasilevskiy had no chance on either of Aube-Kubel's first period goals. The first was a deflection in front of a Shayne Gostisbehere point shot. The latter came on a 2-on-1 from the slot off a feed from Sean Couturier. Joel Farabee's secondary assist was his first career NHL postseason point. Philly was credited with a dozen first period hits (led by three from Kevin Hayes) and won 11 of 19 faceoffs (Hayes won five of seven).

* The second period was a good defensive period for the Flyers, as they limited the Lightning to seven shots. The Flyers killed off their first penalty with authority but got burned on the second. Hart made a touch save on Mikhail Sergechev. Shortly thereafter, though, he was beaten from the dead slot by Johnson off a Killorn pass.

* Strong forechecking work by Couturier and a tape-to-tape cross-ice pass from Gostisbehere to Farabee near the right hash marks presented the Flyers a great scoring chance, and Farabee buried it in the back of the net.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

* The Flyers went a perfect 3-0-0 in the Round Robin against three teams above them in the NHL standings and outscored them 11-3 in the process.

* The Flyers earned the #1 seed to enter the playoffs for the first time since the 2000 playoffs.

* Nic Aube-Kubel recorded two goals, his first two career Stanley Cup Playoff goals, and led all players in the game with six shots.

* Joel Farabee recorded a two-point night with a goal and an assist, which are his first career Stanley Cup Playoff points.

* Scott Laughton recorded an assist making him the lone Flyer to record a point in all four games since Return to Play... He led the team with six points (4g-2a).

* The Flyers yielded their first goal on the penalty kill since entering the bubble - they are 12-for-13 on the PK

* Matt Niskanen led the team with 25:33 of ice time