Canadiens – Flyers

Despite a lengthy injury list, the Habs are 9-7-1 since starting second half of season and are 5-2-0 in their last seven games.

He’s a big culture guy and he’s going to own that culture and he’s going to make sure there’s culture. “Not just any identity — but an identity that reflects the city of Philadelphia and the proud history of the Flyers organization. “We’re in the midst of establishing an identity,” Tortorella added. “Now, I’m not gonna lie to you — and I want to be clear about this — we’re not there yet,” Tortorella wrote in his letter to Flyers’ season-ticket holders. The Flyers hired Tortorella last summer after they missed the playoffs for the second straight season. After getting booed off the ice by their fans at the end of the second period, Tippett got the Flyers on the board only nine seconds into the third period. “That guy brought culture everywhere he went and I think that’s the most important thing as a coach,” St. It was Suzuki’s 19th goal of the season. Both these teams are rebuilding and the Canadiens have been surprising people recently with 10 players on the injured list. The Flyers are in 25th place in the overall NHL standings and are now only two points ahead of the Canadiens. The 64-year-old is in his 21st season as an NHL head coach after stints with the Tampa Bay Lightning — where he won the Stanley Cup in 2004 — New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks and Columbus Blue Jackets. Article content

Not everyone will be happy with the win, but everyone should be happy with what the Habs displayed on Broad St.

A winning result will not please all Canadiens fans in this conflicted season, but it’s hard for even the tankiest supporters to not be happy about the on-ice process and mentality displayed by St-Louis’s charges Friday night. He also recognizes that there’s no risk of a turnover to hurt the team, as there isn’t enough time for the Flyers to skate the length of the ice. Montreal’s desire to regain puck possession also played a big role in their first goal, where an aggressive forecheck at the offensive blue line prevented Joel Farabee from clearing the puck properly. When Philadelphia collapsed its coverage, Montreal was more than content to cycle around the perimeter and Despite outnumbering the Canadiens four to two — or maybe because of it — Philadelphia defends the play as if they expect Montreal to create a scrum on the boards. Wade Allison keys in on Pezzetta’s body rather than his stick or the puck, Rasmus Ristolainen defends the non-existent threat of Alex Belzile on the half-wall for some inexplicable reason, Cam York stations himself at the near post in case Pezzetta walks out from the corner with the puck, and Kevin Hayes positions himself at the far-side faceoff dot in order to ward off a non-existent trailer or launch a physics-bending counter-attack. Philadelphia is playing as if there were five minutes left in the period, rather than five seconds, and is caught flat-footed as a result. The Canadiens forward recognizes that there isn’t enough time to tie up the puck or win possession outright. The same Canadiens faithful will also recognize that the Habs have had no luck when it comes to consistently maintaining the levels of puck-hunger necessary for long-term success. The most obvious example of where the Canadiens’ puck pressure directly paid off was their second goal on the night. Generally speaking, puck-possession in the game of hockey translates to goals, which in turn translates to wins. Winning the puck is not as simple as just “wanting it more.” Pure aggression must be tempered by proper timing, strategic positioning, and coordination with other teammates.

Chris Tierney, David Savard, Josh Anderson and Nick Suzuki also scored for Montreal, which followed up Tuesday's impressive win over New Jersey with another ...

Suzuki scored the only goal of the second on a power play for his team-leading 45th point. NOTES: Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Brandon Graham pounded the drum the home club uses to get the fans cheering at the start of the contest. Michael Pezzetta won a battle behind the net and fed the puck in front to a wide-open Pezzetta. Only Columbus, with 41 points, has less in the conference. The Canadiens peppered Hart during a power play early in the first, with Philadelphia’s goalie making strong saves on slap shots from Mike Hoffman and Rafael Harvey-Pinard to keep the game scoreless. It took just 19 seconds for the Canadiens to take advantage when Suzuki’s pass to the front of the net deflected off defenseman Provorov’s stick and high over Hart. “I just think we were off tonight,” Philadelphia’s Scott Laughton said. Montreal skated circles around the Flyers in a dominating first period that ended with the home team being booed off the ice. “That wasn’t how we play. Tierney gave the Canadiens a two-goal lead with 5 seconds left in the first. “We were really balanced tonight and it showed. “It was one of our best games of the year,” Anderson said.