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ECQF Game 1 Wrap: Flyers Win Tense Series Opener, 2-1 |
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Wrap: Flyers Win Tense Series Opener, 2-1
A reasonably solid first period and a strong third-period closeout bookended a nearly disastrous second period for the Philadelphia Flyers as they prevailed, 2-1, over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Jakub Voracek (power play, 1st goal of the playoffs) notched the lone goal in the first period. After Shea Weber (power play, 3rd) knotted the game at 14:38 of the second period, Joel Farabee (2nd) responded at five-on-five just 16 seconds later to put the Flyers ahead to stay.
One evening before he celebrates his 22nd birthday, Flyers goaltender Carter Hart turned in a strong performance for his team as he turned aside 27 of 28 shots. He was under siege in a dominant second period for Montreal but authored 16 saves on 17 shots to prevent the game from getting away from his team.
At the other end of the ice, veteran Carey Price gave the Canadiens a chance to win. He had little chance on either of the two Philadelphia goals he allowed on 31 shots. Price also came up with a highlight reel desperation stick save on Scott Laughton in the second period that is likely going to be replayed for many years to come.
"I think our first and third period we were better as far as playing north-south and going quickly to what we do best. I thought in the second period, Montreal played a real strong period. They were first on pucks. They made us make bad decisions with the puck and they looked real fast. There’s no doubt that this is what we expected, a low scoring, tight checking game. Two good teams. Good goaltending on both sides. Hard fought game," Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault said.
The Flyers went 1-for-3 on the power play. Montreal scored on their lone man advantage of the game.
Philadelphia controlled puck possession most of the period, got traffic in front of Price, scored on their 1st power play and Hart was strong when tested. In the latter half of the period, Montreal did get some forechecking pressure going, and the Flyers had some sloppy zone exits. Other than that, the Flyers pretty much had their way (shots were 11-5 in the Flyers' favor).
Provorov had layers of traffic screening Price on the game's first goal, and the puck may have been partially deflected by Paul Byron before it glanced off Voracek's leg. Claude Giroux got his first assist of the playoffs at 8:54. Travis Konecny lost a secondary assist originally credited to him after postgame video reviews showed that the puck went in off a Flyer (Voracek) after Provorov shot it.
The Canadiens turned the tide in the second period, which started ominously with a Provorov giveaway and extended offensive zone time for the Habs. Montreal the Flyers to the tune of a 17-7 shot differential. Montreal had the Flyers playing chase for much of the frame.
"I think we just didn’t play our game in the second period. We turned the puck over at the blue line. We turned the puck over in our zone. That kind of created momentum for them. They had a lot of possession and that’s why they were able to create chances. Hartsy did a great job and he kept us in the game. When we got out there for the third, we finally started playing our game. We put the puck deep, went on the forecheck, had a few power plays that helped us create the momentum and keep playing our game," Provorov said.
With Nic Aube-Kubel in the penalty box for holding, the Habs created a scramble around the net. The loose puck was poked to Weber, who buried it from point-blank range to tie the game at 14:38 of the second period.
On the next shift, a Montreal turnover, a point keep by Travis Sanheim, a deflection and then a rebound put-in by Farabee stuck a dagger in Montreal's hearts. The goal came at 14:54.
The Flyers staged an outstanding close-out period in the final stanza. Philadelphia held Montreal to just six shots -- and perhaps 2 bonafide scoring chances -- while the Flyers got a forecheck going and generated 13 shots of their own. All that was missing was an insurance goal. The Flyers had two power plays in the third period, including a 4-on-3 that lasted 1:15, but could not extend the lead.
"I thought we played okay. We played a good game. Pretty responsible. We didn’t get a whole lot of chances, but that’s playoff hockey. It’ll come. When we get them, we got to capitalize on them. We got some good looks. I think we can build. We’re playing some solid defensive hockey. We just got to click a little better offensively, but it’ll come," Sean Couturier said.
Final shot attempts were 65 for Montreal to 57 for the Flyers. Faceoffs were 32-27 in the Flyers' favor (54%), led by Kevin Hayes going 9-for-14. Credited hits were 32-27 in Montreal's favor led by sx for Montreal's Ben Chiarot and six by the Flyers' Aube-Kubel. There were 24 recorded turnovers apiece with both the Flyers and Habs being charged with 14 giveaways and being credited with 10 takeaways (led by Montreal's Phillip Danault with four. Matt Niskanen blocked four shots for Philly while Maxime Ouellet blocked a half-dozen for Montreal.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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