Why the Flyers Will Steamroll the Canadiens In Round 1
The Philadelphia Flyers are absolutely killing it.
The team has had absolutely no ill effects or rust to speak of since coming back from the 150-day layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a matter a fact, they’ve picked up right where they left off. They were playing phenomenal hockey going 9-1 in their last 10 games before the break. Since NHL hockey has been back, the Flyers beat the Penguins in an exhibition game and absolutely DOMINATED the NHL’s Eastern Conference Round Robin Tournament going 3-0 to secure the top seed in the conference.
They beat the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning with ease, outscoring them by a combined 11-3 score.
As a result, the team has earned a first-round match-up with the Montreal Canadiens.
I fully expect the Flyers to make short work of the Canadiens in a lopsided series, and here are the reasons why.
The Flyers Well Balanced Attack
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The Flyers roll out all four lines and each one has the ability to put the puck in the net. The Giroux, Couturier and Voracek (or Farabee if Voracek can’t go) is their number one line of course and I don’t think there’s any question that any of those guys can create offense.
The line of Laughton, Hayes, and Konecny have been on fire, even recording a combined 8 points versus the Capitals in the Round Robin. On the third line, Aube-Kubel seems to have a NAK (pun intended) of generating offence in big games, Grant has been all over the place causing havoc and winning faceoffs. JVR needs to get going, but a matchup with the smaller bodied Canadiens may just be what the doctor ordered for JVR to get into a grove. As for the fourth line, of Pitlick is a main stay and whomever plays with him has done really well.
Hopefully, Raffl will be back from his injury, but if not Thompson, Bunnaman, Farabee and company have exceled. The Canadiens best forward checker is Phil Danault, but he won’t be able to check every Flyers line. The Flyers offense will create a match-up nightmare for Canadiens head coach Claude Julien, especially with the Flyers having home ice advantage and dictating the matchup game.
The Flyers Big, Strong, Smooth Skating Defense
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The Flyers defense will be another nightmare for the Canadiens smaller forwards. Sanheim and Myers are just high-rise towers back there and their reach will be a clear advantage over the Canadiens, when getting to lose pucks.
Did I mention that they can score too? Sanhiem and Myers both scored beautiful goals in the round-robin.
Provorov is as steady as they come and the last time he played the Canadiens he scored this highlight-reel goal:
Gostisbehere finally seems healthy and boy did he put on an offensive clinic against the Lightning. After that performance, Ghost will get a chance to play against the Canadiens who are not exactly physical which plays right into Ghosts game.
Niskanen and Braun have led and settled down the defense all season and are really solid back there, and Hagg has been reliable all year. With the Canadiens defensive forwards trying to shut down the Flyers high powered offence, the Flyers defensemen’s offensive skills will dictate the play.
The Canadiens’ Lack of Scoring Depth
This one will be evident right off the bat. With Flyers Head Coach Alain Vigneault having the matchup advantage in this series, I assume he will have the Couturier line on the Suzuki line, which is a clear advantage to the Flyers. That Suzuki line is the Canadiens most offensive-minded line but should be no match for the Selke nominated Couturier and Claude Giroux who is one of the better shut down guys in the NHL as well.
With them neutralizing the Suzuki line, the next best offensive line of the Canadiens has been the Danault line, but they will be matched up against the Hayes and Laughton line, who are extremely good at shutting down the opposition, all while producing offensively. For a team with a clear lack of scoring depth like the Canadiens, getting the Flyers as their opponent in the first round is the worst thing that could have happened to them.
The Flyers are a puck possession team and have 2 of the top faceoff men in hockey in Couturier (who led the NHL in FO winning percentage) and Giroux (who finished fourth in FO winning percentage). Grant & Thompson have been fantastic on faceoffs as well. The Flyers winning most faceoffs and having possession will further hurt the Canadiens offense in this series. With the Flyers holding the Bruins, Capitals and Lightning to just 3 combined goals in 3 games, with the high powered offense those teams have, the task of shutting down the Canadiens will be much less grueling.
Carter Hart
Finally, if and when the Canadiens get some scoring chances, Carter Hart will stand tall. After this first round / round robin round, Hart posted a .966 SV%, better than any other goalie who started at least 2 games. Hart stopped 2 lightning breakaways in the first period of their game (One against the incredible Nikita Kucherov no less), essentially taking all the wind out of the Lightning’s sails.
The Canadiens will have to have perfect shots to score on Hart and their lack of scoring depth and the Flyers big, strong, smooth skating defense will make that nearly impossible for them to accomplish. Much is made of Carey Price, and rightfully so, but with all due respect to Price, Hart has been just as good if not better. Hart has stated that Price was his idol growing up, which means he’s going to want to put on a show in front of Price.
Hart is so positionally sound it’s scary. He became the youngest Flyers goalie in history to register a playoff win this year and he’s looking for more.
His teammates have so much confidence in him and it shows on the ice.
To be honest, the Canadiens are clearly overmatched in this series, and I don’t expect it to be a very long series.
As a matter of fact, I’m calling for a Flyers first round sweep of the Montreal Canadiens.
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