The Philadelphia Flyers’ six-game losing streak came to a close in Brad Shaw’s first game behind the bench by a score of 6-4 against the Montréal Canadiens.
Matvei Michkov opened the scoring about two minutes into the game before Alex Newhook tied things up. However, the Flyers came right back with goals from Nicolas Deslauriers and Sean Couturier to take a 3-1 lead into the second.
Cole Caufield then cut the lead in half to start the third period before the Flyers got goals from Tyson Foerster and Couturier to claim a three-goal lead. Christian Dvorak and Michkov then traded goals 16 seconds apart to complete a wild third period.
Patrik Laine made things interesting with a goal with the net empty but the Flyers survived the barrage and claimed a much needed win on home ice.
Samuel Ersson stopped 26 shots to earn his 20th win of the season, while Jakub Dobeš allowed 6 goals on 30 shots for his 3rd straight loss.
Shaw’s interim coaching tenure kicked off with the Flyers hosting the Canadiens in the midst of a 1-10-1 run.
The Flyers made the tough decision to fire John Tortorella during his third season behind the bench and with just nine games remaining in the season, it’s high-time for Shaw to have a crack. He ran with the same lineup as last game, meaning Ersson earned the start and was looking for his 20th win on the campaign.
As for the Canadiens, it’s been a surprising season as they held the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference entering the contest. Although they had been on a three-game skid, it was a very different team to the one that beat the Flyers all the way back in October.
Offensively they were paced by Nick Suzuki’s 73 points in 70 games, Caufield’s 33 goals and 62 points, rookie sensation Lane Hutson and his 54 points, and Juraj Slafkovský and his 43 points.
Dobeš also earned the start as he looked to improve on his 6-3-2 record, 2.75 GAA, and .905 SV%. He had just one win in his last five games, which spanned all the way back to January 30th.
FIRST PERIOD
As expected, the Flyers opened the scoring just 1:55 into the game after a nice tic-tac-toe play from the top line that was finished off by Michkov. Couturier dumped it in before tracking the puck behind the net, then he fed it to Travis Konecny who then fed Michkov in front of the net. The rookie tapped the pass home for his 21st of the season.
The assist from Couturier extended his point streak to five games and the assist from Konecny earned him a new career-high in points at 69.
The Canadiens tied the game at the 7:55 mark after Newhook walked through the Flyers defense and fired a shot short-side under the crossbar past Ersson for his 14th of the season. David Savard did a great job at setting up the speedy winger for the goal but the Flyers were caught snoozing in the middle of the ice as well.
The Flyers responded quickly when Deslauriers scored his first goal of the season after they were able to catch Dobeš napping. Behind the net, Rodrigo Ābols kicked the puck to Olle Lycksell, who then quickly found Deslauriers at the front of the net for the tap-in with Dobeš looking the other way with 9:47 remaining.
1:02 later, the Flyers added to their lead after Michkov’s shot hit a couple of bodies in front, including Couturier, before going past Dobeš. The captain was situated in front of the net creating the perfect screen as Michkov fired a shot through traffic before he got a piece of it for his 13th of the season.
Both goaltenders came up with massive saves at the end of the period after Dobeš stopped a Michkov breakaway followed by a Konecny one-timer. Conversely, Ersson robbed Hutson in the slot with a glove save.
The period came to a close with the Flyers up 3-1 on the scoreboard and 11-10 on the shot clock. Cam York, who was benched in their last game against Toronto, was parked on the bench the entirety of the first period – and the game.
SECOND PERIOD
After Ersson robbed Suzuki from a certain goal, the Canadiens jumped on the first power play of the night shortly after Travis Sanheim was found guilty for a hooking minor with 13:01 remaining. Laine had three shots from his office that went well wide or were blocked, but otherwise it was a solid kill for a penalty killing unit that desperately needed one.
The Flyers then earned their first power play of the night after Brendan Gallagher was sent to the box for a tripping minor with 4:27 remaining. The five-forward power play unit spent the majority of the power play in the offensive zone but were only able to register a couple of chances.
With 1:28 remaining in the period, Bobby Brink was nailed for a slashing minor. Montreal had chances from Caufield (high and wide), Laine (2 shots wide), and Suzuki (post) within the final minute but the Flyers survived and took a two-goal lead into the third.
No goals were scored in the period but the temperature definitely rose with scrums ensuing after nearly every whistle. The Canadiens took a lead in shots at 18-16 after an 8-5 edge in the middle frame.
THIRD PERIOD
Caufield cut the Flyers lead in half after scoring from below the goal line just 2:15 into the third period. After winning the faceoff, Hutson and Jayden Struble played pitch and catch before the latter found Caufield behind the net for the finish.
30 seconds later, Struble was found guilty for a slashing minor, sending the Flyers back onto the power play. They finally set up their power play with one-timers and unsurprisingly they created several high danger chances, but Dobeš had all the answers.
With 28 seconds remaining on Struble’s minor, Josh Anderson was caught roughing Brink and gave the Flyers an abbreviated 5-on-3 power play, which prompted a timeout from the home team. Despite some chances at the onset of the two-man advantage, not much else found it’s way towards Dobeš, which extended the Flyers’ power play woes to 0-for-34 to that point.
With 9:51 remaining in regulation, Foerster reclaimed the Flyers’ two-goal lead after finishing off a rebound opportunity by waiting out Dobes in front of the net. Nick Seeler’s initial shot was stopped but Foerster grabbed the loose change before roofing it past Dobeš for his 17th of the season.
The Canadiens challenged the goal due to potential goaltender interference as Brink made contact with Dobeš. However, it looked like Struble might have pushed him into the goaltender as the forward tried to make his way into the crease. After review, the referees kept their original call, while also assessing a delay of game penalty to Montréal for the missed challenge.
With 26 seconds remaining on the power play, Couturier wired home his second goal of the night off an odd-man rush. The Canadiens had an opportunity of their own the other way but a centering pass from behind the net went into no-man’s land and it allowed the Flyers to jumpstart their rush.
Couturier held onto the puck, looking at Konecny, but decided to fire away as he notched his 14th of the season and the Flyers’ first power play goal of the month of March on their 35th opportunity.
With 6:26 left to play, the Canadiens cut the deficit back to two after Dvorak patiently waited for a looping pass from Anderson before finishing it off in tight against Ersson for his 12th of the season.
It was entirely short-lived because 16 seconds later Michkov scored his second of the night after scooping up a loose puck in the neutral zone and walked in on Dobeš before finishing it off through his five-hole.
With the net empty, the Canadiens quickly cut the deficit back to 2 goals after Laine finished an opportunity from in front with the Flyers nowhere near the puck carrier.
The Canadiens sent a barrage of shot towards the net in an attempt to furiously tie the game but it was to no avail. Michkov was inches away from a hat trick as he fired a shot towards the empty net, but the puck glanced off the post and stayed out.
Michkov was so frustrated that he skated off and ran right down the tunnel before coming back to celebrate the win with his teammates.
Regardless, the Flyers held on for the nervy win over the Canadiens.
UP NEXT
The Flyers welcome the Buffalo Sabres to Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon (1:00pm ET; NBCSP).
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