Flyers Are Moving On, Win First Playoff Series Since 2012

The Philadelphia Flyers are moving on. Defeating the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in Game6 & 4-2 in the series. Their first playoff series win since 2012.

Just 28-seconds in, the Flyers would strike first. After a Montreal icing, the Flyers would win the faceoff back to the point. Ivan Provorov would fire the puck on net. The puck would deflect past Carey Price off of Canadiens captain Shea Weber. The goal was Provorov’s first career playoff goal.

Kevin Hayes would give the Flyers a 2-0 shortly after their first power-play. Hayes caught Price out of position & banked one home off of Price for the goal. It was Hayes’s first career goal against Carey Price.

Montreal would score on their first playoff. Nick Suzuki would be left alone in-front & put away the rebound from Joel Armia’s shot from the high slot.

Early in the 2nd period, Michael Raffl would give the Flyers a 2-goal lead again. Jake Voracek would drop a pass to Travis Sanheim in the high slot. Sanheim’s shot would hit Raffl first. Then, the post. And, finally bank in off the back of Price.

But, just like in Game5, the Canadiens would respond quickly. Just 1:39 later, Nick Suzuki would get his second of the game. Jonathan Drouin would escape Travis Sanheim in the corner and feed a wide-open Suzuki for the goal.

Montreal would give it one hell of a last-ditch effort in the 3rd period. Outshooting the Flyers 13-5 in the 3rd. Including 9-0 over the last 8-minutes of play. But, Carter Hart stopped them all.

Carter Hart stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced to earn the win & his 1st series win.

Observations…

• For the first time since 2012, the Flyers have advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs. With the Game6 win, the Flyers have won their 1st round series against the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. Now, they move on to face the New York Islanders in the 2nd round.
• After ending their slump in Game5, the Flyers power-play looked like it has for most of the series. Just awful. Scoring three times in Game5, the Flyers power-play didn’t come close to a goal tonight. Going 0 for 4 & generating 0 scoring chances.
• With Matt Niskanen suspended, Ivan Provorov knew he would be relied on heavily in Game6. In Game6, Ivan Provorov scored a goal, blocked 2 shots, & played 24:36. Including 4;36 over the final 9-minutes of the game.
• Head coach Alain Vigneault knows how to push the right buttons. After their Game2 loss, Vigneault made key changes that contributed heavily in their Game3 win. Tonight, Vigneault pushed the right buttons once again. This time with his defense rotations in the absence of the suspended Matt Niskanen.
• Since January 7th, the Flyers have not lost back-to-back games. In the previous 9-games after a loss, the Flyers won all 9. Outscoring their opponents 41-17. Tonight, that trend continued with the Flyers avenging their Game5 loss. Just like they did after their Game2 loss.

Result : Flyers 3 – Canadiens 2 , WIN

Series : Flyers win 4-2

Next Game : TBD vs New York Islanders