After coming victorious on Sunday afternoon, 6-2, over the Washington Capitals, the Philadelphia Flyers fell in their second game to the Montréal Canadiens, 5-0.
First Period
Eetu Mäkiniemi got the nod for Philadelphia as Cayden Primeau started for Montréal.
Nicolas Deslauriers and Lucas Condotta received roughing minors almost immediately, but Condotta picked up the extra unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to put the Flyers on the powerplay. Philadelphia went on back-to-back powerplays but could not convert with Condotta or Lane Hutson in the penalty box. Rasmus Ristolainen and Scott Laughton logged hits, but Oliver Bonk and Emil Heineman led the physicality.
“For the circumstances, it’s been a long time, I felt decent. When you’re out for a long time, you appreciate being healthy and being available, so it was really fun to be back and play a game.” – Rasmus Ristolainen; 9/23/2024
Jared Davidson went off the ice on a double-minor for high-sticking, giving the Flyers a four-minute man advantage. An overturned goal by Sean Couturier, goaltender interference, meant they never held a lead in this game. If you watch the replay, there was no goaltender interference. Primeau turned away other shots by Egor Zamula and Bobby Brink as the first period finished.
Second Period
Starting the period on the powerplay, the Flyers could not convert after Couturier had his effort overturned. Philadelphia finished without a powerplay goal (0/4).
It was not until after eight minutes into the second period that Montréal drew first blood. Luke Tuch, the younger brother of Alex Tuch, gave the Canadiens a lead, 1-0, after Davidson stripped Ronnie Attard of the puck.
“I don’t know about ‘lucky bounces.’ We turned the puck over in the third, maybe some fatigue, but it was a pretty tight game for forty minutes.” – Ian Laperrière; 9/23/2024
The Flyers peppered Primeau with shots, but the son of Keith, familiar with Philadelphia, shut the door. Jakub Dobeš replaced Primeau with a 1-0 lead, and Cal Petersen relieved Mäkiniemi.
Third Period
It was all Montréal in the third and final period. They would go on to score four more goals in the period.
David Savard took the bump pass from Davidson, who received a hard pass from Lane Hutson. Savard doubled the Canadiens lead, 2-0, three minutes into the period.
Less than a minute later, Oliver Kapanen hustled to help Alex Barré-Boulet get above the goal line to find Heineman on a one-timer snap shot. The Canadiens increased the lead in the blink of an eye, 3-0.
Montréal showed no signs of slowing down. Josh Anderson and Joshua Roy ran the transition through the neutral and into the Flyers defensive zone for a two-on-one finish, 4-0, with under six minutes remaining.
Down and out, the Flyers struggled to generate and sustain offensive pressure. Philadelphia spent too much time defending, and despite a few quality saves from Petersen, Montréal ran away with the game.
“There’s a couple [of] vets that look a little bit tired. The kids tried. A guy like Richard, who is trying to make this team, tried hard. Risto [Ristolainen] looked good. He’s trying, he missed a lot of time last year. I didn’t mind Brinker [Brink], he tried too. Right now, that’s what Torts [Tortorella] is looking for. [He’s] looking for effort; he knows the guys are tired, he just wants to see who’s going to quit or keep going. I felt like it was a third of [the] guys that quit in the third, but again, that’s not my call to make. The young guys tried. I was happy for the young guys.” – Ian Laperrière; 9/23/2024
Barré-Boulet tapped home a centered pass from Heineman, 5-0, to make it a handful for Montréal. Primeau and Dobeš combined for the shutout.
Next, the Flyers return to Philadelphia on Thursday, hosting the New York Islanders in their first home preseason game. The puck drops at 7pm.
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