Flyers blank Canadiens, move into first in Metropolitan

MONTREAL -- Petr Mrazek made 28 saves, and the Philadelphia Flyers moved into first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 1-0 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Monday.
Philadelphia (34-19-10) moved ahead of the Washington Capitals by one point and the Pittsburgh Penguins by two points.

WATCH: [All Flyers vs. Canadiens highlights]
"It's a good two points," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "It's nice to get a shootout win and get the extra point. I think that's important right now from our standpoint. Every point is critical, and we just keep pushing."
Sean Couturier scored the deciding goal in the shootout for Philadelphia, which has won six straight and is 10-0-2 in its past 12 games.
The Flyers have not lost in regulation since Feb. 1 against the New Jersey Devils.
"We have to keep going, keep working hard, and play the way we played tonight," Mrazek said. "And if we're going to do that, I believe we can stay in first place for a long time."
The win was Philadelphia's seventh straight on the road, which is tied for the second-longest streak in its history. The Flyers record for consecutive road wins is eight from Dec. 22, 1982-Jan. 16, 1983.
Charlie Lindgren made 33 saves for Montreal (23-29-10), which has lost two straight (0-0-2) and eight of its past nine (1-4-4). The Canadiens are 13 points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

Lindgren, who was recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League on Feb. 21, was making his first start since Nov. 21.
"He has a tendency of making big saves at crucial times to keep you in it," Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said. "As players, you appreciate that because it bails you out at times. So definitely a good player."
Couturier scored the deciding goal on Philadelphia's sixth attempt against Lindgren.
Jakub Voracek scored short side on the Flyers' third attempt to extend the shootout.
Paul Byron was the only Montreal shooter to score on Mrazek, who got his fourth shutout of the season, first with Philadelphia.

Mrazek is 3-0-0 with a 1.30 goals-against average and .947 save percentage since being acquired by the Flyers in a trade from the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 19.
"Well I don't know if I can rank it, but he was outstanding," Hakstol said. "I thought the last 10-11 minutes of the second period was the key, and I thought he was tremendous during that stretch, where they built the momentum and had a lot of good scoring chances. He did a great job in the middle portion of the game for us, and obviously, in the shootout he was excellent."

Goal of the game

Couturier's goal in the shootout.

Save of the game

Mrazek's save on Max Pacioretty at 1:24 of overtime.

Highlight of the game

Lindgren's save on Claude Giroux with 21.1 seconds left in overtime.

They said it

"Chemistry is a big part of this game, and I think that's been a major factor in our group being able to dig out of a real big hole a couple of months back and be able to continue battling together. And sometimes, chemistry is the highest thing on the list in terms of the game of hockey. We've got an awful tough schedule coming up going down the final stretch here, so we're going to be tested at a lot of different levels, but we've got to keep growing during that time period."-- Flyers coach Dave Hakstol
"Obviously, Mrazek played really well tonight and I think he's trying to prove himself on the Flyers too. And obviously we know where Philly's at in the standings, they're making a push to get the highest seed they can get. He played a heck of a game, so that was really fun." -- Canadiens goalie Charlie Lindgren

Need to know

The Flyers claimed defenseman Johnny Oduya off waivers from the Ottawa Senators. … The Canadiens acquired defenseman Mike Reilly in a trade from the Minnesota Wild.

What's next

Flyers: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, FS-SE, NHL.TV)
Canadiens: Host the New York Islanders on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; SN, RDS, MSG+, NHL.TV)