Postgame RAV4: Flyers Outlast Habs in Shootout Win

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Montreal Canadiens via shootout, 5-4 (1-0), at Bell Centre on Tuesday evening. The Flyers earned their first road win of the season in a wild seesaw game. The Flyers now have seven points from games they trailed entering the third period.

Midway through the third period, Nikita Grebenkin (1st NHL goal) forged a 4-4 tie. After a scoreless overtime, Trevor Zegras notched the lone successful attempt in the shootoDan Vladar stopped 16 of 20 shots in regulation but then went 3-for-3 in the shootout. Sam Montembeault made 38 saves on 42 shots. He was 2-for-3 in the shootout.

First period synopsis

Philadelphia grabbed a quick 1-0 lead just 1:56 after the opening faceoff. From the high slot, Brink made a backhanded re-direct of a Travis Sanheim shot into the net. The assist went to Sanheim and York.

The Flyers caught a huge break at 4:22. Montreal's Alex Newhook hit the crossbar and the puck stayed out of the net. Mike Matheson sent the puck over the glass from the defensive zone and incurred a delay of game penalty at 5:39. The Flyers went on a 5-on-3 for 1:32 as Noah Dobson cross-checked Brink at 6:07. Philly made both halves of the power play count.

During the two-man advantage, Trevor Zegras took the puck up top. He made a spinning backhand pass and found York at the top of the right circle for a 5-on-3 power play goal at 7:07. The assists went to Zegras and Travis Konecny.

On the ensuing 5-on-4, Zegras sent the puck at the net. Noah Cates then found Brink, who fired the puck home at 7:50 for a 3-0 lead and his second tally of the period. The helpers went to Cates and Zegras. The Flyers had swirling traffic and strong puck movement.

Montreal went to their first power play on a Nick Seeler interference minor at 9:08. The Canadiens moved the puck well but Philadelphia killed off the penalty.

Philadelphia continued to work to get bodies to the net. Nikita Grebenkin made two good plays. At 15:27, Jamie Drysdale had a prime chance. Montembeault made the save.

Shots: Flyers 12 - Canadiens 2

Faceoffs: Flyers 5 - Canadiens 13

Notable:

• The Flyers came out doing exactly what head coach Rick Tocchet exhorted the team to do over the weekend. They got pucks and traffic to the net.
• Montreal had a hard time for most of the period in trying to set up in the Flyers zone.
• Among the Flyers' 12 shots on goal, four were by Cates.

Second period synopsis

Montreal cut the gap to 3-1 at 3:12 . A Noah Dobson shot bounced off the board to Dach, who scored. The assists went to Dobson and Brendan Gallagher.

Sanheim was called for a marginal tripping penalty on Cole Caufield at 3:28.

Montreal narrowed the gap to 3-2 on the power play at 4:15. After crisp puck movement, Suzuki blasted a one-timer into the net off an Ivan Demidov set up pass. Caufield drew the secondary assist. Montreal had two goals on three shots in the period.

Montreal went back to the power play at 7:28. Sean Couturier went off for tripping. At 8:12, Juraj Slafkovsky and Garnet Hathaway went off on coincidental roughing minors. The Canadiens remained on a 5-on-4 power play. Suzuki got away with interference on Christian Dvorak. Moments later, Owen Tippett sped off on a shorthanded breakaway. Montembeault made the save.

The penalty parade continued. At 10:32, Joe Veleno got a checking to the head minor on a hit against Drysdale. Vladar stopped Jake Evans on a shorthanded breakaway. The penalty expired.

Montreal tied the game at 13:28 . Lane Hutson beat Jacob Gaucher and fed the puck in front to Dach, who got a shot past Vladar. Hutson and Struble drew the assists.

The Canadiens went to the power play yet again at 15:22. Brink went for tripping Demidov. Montreal cashed in to take a 4-3 lead at 15:56. Demidov rifled a shot into the short-side off a Slafkovsky feed. Hutson drew the secondary assist.

Philly's fourth power play ensued at 17:31 on a Dach hooking minor. Michkov fired a shot off Motembeault's glove. At the other end, Montreal very nearly scored a shorthanded goal. With play returning at 5-on-5 Motembeault robbed Dvorak.

Shots: Flyers 17 (29 overall) - Canadiens 9 (11 overall)

Faceoffs: Flyers 8 (13 overall) - Canadiens 15 (28 overall)

Notable:

• Goaltending was the main difference in the period. Montembeault settled in as the frame developed, although some of his saves were a high-wire act. It was a shaky frame for Vladar.
• Michkov made several good plays throughout the period. He also had a big hit at the end of the period.
• A very active period for Tippett and Zegras.
• The Flyers continued to struggle on faceoffs. Cates was 2-for-11 through 40 minutes. Dvorak was 4-for-12.

Third period synopsis

Arber Xhekaj and Nicolas Deslauriers dropped the gloves and had a spirited fight at 2:30.

Caufield checked Drysdale from behind near the defensive boards. The Flyers went to a crucial power play at 6:25. Montembeault made a blocker save on Zegras. Tippett was unable to score into a half-open net off a Zegras setup.

Scoring his first NHL goal, Grebenkin tied the game at 10:51. Konecny called for the puck from Drysdale in the neutral zone. Konecny then dropped the puck to Grebenkin. The rookie scored from the deep center slot on a shot that may have changed direction off a Montreal player. The assists went to Konecny and Drysdale.

Shots: Flyers 11 (40 overall) - Canadiens 8 (19 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 5 (18 overall) - Canadiens 9 (37 overall)

Notable:

• An exciting final 20 minutes that was the polar opposite of Sunday's game against Calgary.
• The Flyers controlled most of the 5-on-5 play.
• Cates went 3-for-14 on faceoffs in regulation, Dvorak was

Overtime synopsis

Konecny jumped on the ice, received a stretch pass and had a golden chance to win the game. Montembeault made the save.

Demidov had a great chance at the other end.

Vladar made a potentially game-saving poke check on Dobson to keep OT going.

Tippett made a pad save in the final moments. Demidov was called for a slashing minor with 7.2 seconds left.

Shots: Flyers 2 (42 overall) - Canadiens 2 (20 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 2 (20 overall) - Canadiens 2 (38 overall)

Shootout synopsis

1st round: Demidov was stopped on an east-west move. Zegras scored after changing speeds and putting the puck between the pads.
2nd round: Vladar stopped Caufield on a low shot. Michkov was stopped on a low blocker attempt.
3rd round: Suzuki was unable to score on a forehand-backhand-forehand attempt.

Flyers Starting Lineup

Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak –Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov – Sean Couturier – Bobby Brink
Nikita Grebenkin – Noah Cates – Travis Konecny
Nicolas Deslaurier – Jacob Gaucher – Garnet Hathaway

Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae – Noah Juulsen

Dan Vladar
[Aleksei Kolosov]

PP1: Drysdale, Cates, Zegras, Tippett, Brink
PP2:York, Couturier, Konecny, Michkov, Dvorak

Postgame Rav4 (Rav4 Things Revisited)

1. Shot/chance suppression

The Flyers held Montreal to 20 shots. The Canadiens still had their share of quality chances and put a four-spot on the scoreboard in the middle period.

2. Shot/chance generation.

Far and away, Tuesday's game was the Flyers best offensive process of the season. The forechecking was strong. Philly also got plenty of pucks and traffic to the net. Giving up a three-goal lead put Philly on the ropes but they found a way to come away with two points.

3. Konecny and company.

The Flyers had quite a few players who had good jump in their skates and hunger to get to the net in this game. Neither Owen Tippett nor Matvei Michkov came away with a point in the game but both play well in addition to the likes of Zegras (two assists) and Konecny (two assists).

4. Special teams battle.

The Flyers went 2-for-6 on the power play. They were 2-for-4 on the penalty kill. Montreal broke a Flyers' streak of 22 consecutive kills. In the end, special teams were a wash.