What you need to know ahead of the Montreal Canadiens' duel with the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at the Bell Centre.
After playing their best game of the season on Sunday night against the Edmonton Oilers, the Montreal Canadiens will host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at the Bell Centre. Rick Tocchet’s team currently holds the first wildcard spots with 38 points, the exact total as the Habs, who are currently third in the Atlantic Division.
The Pennsylvania outfit has lost its last three games, none in regulation, and has a 5-2-3 record in its previous 10 games. The Tricolore has a 5-4-1 record and hopes to build on its performance from the last game. Montreal has won six of the previous 10 duels between the two sides, but the Flyers had the upper hand in the only tilt so far this season, a 5-4 win in the shootout. The teams will meet three times this year, but the last meeting won’t be until the very last day of the season.
Canadiens: Big Decision Ahead
Slafkovsky Impressive In Canadiens’ Win
Canadiens: LJ Mooney Set For Significant Role With Defending Champions
The talk of the town in Montreal is once again about the goaltenders, as the team has yet to announce who will get the start and has kept Jacob Fowler with the team so far. The Habs are set to practice at 10:30, and Martin St-Louis could confirm who will start, who will be scratched up front, and who will be scratched on defence.
Samuel Montembeault has a 3-0-1 record against Philadelphia with a 3.14 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. He was the goalie in the only duel this season, and his last start was on December 2 against the Ottawa Senators. As for Jakub Dobes, who performed admirably in Sunday night’s game, he has a 0-1-0 record against the visitors, with a 6.30 GAA and a .800 SV. Fowler has never faced them.
Neither of the Flyers’ goaltenders has a good record against the Canadiens. Samuel Ersson has a 2-3-0 record with a 3.53 GAA and a .850 SV, while Dan Vladar has won his only game, but has a 3.70 GAA and a .800 SV. The latter was in net against the Habs earlier this season. The netminders split their last two games, a back-to-back against the Carolina Hurricanes, with Vladar playing the previous game. He has also seen most of the action this season; he has 19 starts, while Ersson has 11.
Up front, the Canadiens will want to keep a close eye on Sean Couturier, who has 23 points in 35 duels with the Habs, Travis Konecny, who has 17 points in 21 games, and Owen Tippett, who has 10 points in 13 tilts. As for Matvei Michkov, he has three points in four duels, and while he only has 17 points in 31 games, a duel with Ivan Demidov might give him an extra boost of energy. The Flyers are currently without Rasmus Ristolainen and Tyson Foerster.
Brendan Gallagher is the Habs’ most productive forward against the Flyers with 27 points in 33 games. Philadelphia is the only team against which he scored a hat-trick. Captain Nick Suzuki, who is on a five-game point streak, has 16 points in as many games, and Mike Matheson rounds up the top three with 13 points in 30 games. As for Cole Caufield, he has 10 points in 11 duels.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM, and you can catch it on RDS, TSN2, and NBCSP. It’s the Noah Dobson bobblehead game tonight at the Bell Center, and the first 8,000 fans to arrive will receive one. Make sure to get there early if you’re going.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.
Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here.