Game 5 – Eastern Conference Finals

5/24/10 4-2 Win SCORING 1st 2nd 3rd OT Total PHI 1 2 1 - 4 MON 1 0 1 - 2 _______________________________ SHOTS 1st 2nd 3rd OT Total PHI 6 12 8 - 26 MON 9 6 12 - 27

*** PostGame Interviews & Coach’s Press Conference ***

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – Jeff Carter notched a pair of goals and Mike Richards picked up a goal and two assists, as the Philadelphia Flyers dispatched the Montreal Canadiens by a 4-2 count in the deciding Game 5 of this Eastern Conference final.

Arron Asham also tallied for the Flyers, who head to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1997 and did it in a more impressive manner and in a tougher fashion than the last time.

Philadelphia reached the Cup Finals that season by rolling past Pittsburgh, Buffalo and the New York Rangers in 15 total games only to be swept by Detroit — which ended a then NHL-longest 42-year title drought.

This time around, it was a five-game victory over New Jersey in the conference quarterfinals followed by an improbable seven-game semifinal win against Boston which saw Philly become the first team in 35 years to rally from an 0-3 series deficit.

A victory over Montreal was secured in large part by holding the Habs to a total of seven goals in five games, including three shutouts by Michael Leighton.

Leighton stopped 25-of-27 shots for the victory, running his record this postseason to 6-1.

Now, Chicago stands in the way. The Blackhawks, who eliminated the Sharks with a Game 4 victory on Sunday in the Western final, haven’t taken home the championship since 1961, the longest drought in the league. The Flyers have not won since the second of back-to-back triumphs in 1975.

Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez lit the lamp for the Canadiens, who managed to topple top-ranked Washington and defending Cup champion Pittsburgh in seven- game triumphs before bowing in their first conference finals since winning it all in 1993.

Jaroslav Halak allowed three goals on 25 shots for Montreal, which had won all five of its previous elimination games before Monday’s season-ending defeat.

With the setback, it marks the first time since the club joined the NHL that it failed to win a Stanley Cup at least once in a decade.

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SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period
00:59 MTL Brian Gionta (9) Wrist Shot – Assists: S. Gomez (12) & R. Hamrlik (9)
04:25 PHI SHG – Mike Richards (6) Backhand – Assists: C. Giroux (9)

2nd Period
03:07 PHI Arron Asham (3) Wrist Shot – Assists: M. Carle (10)
04:31 PHI Jeff Carter (3) Wrist Shot – Assists: M. Richards (14) & K. Timonen (8)

3rd Period
06:53 MTL Scott Gomez (2) Wrist Shot – Assists: P. Subban (7) & B. Gionta (6)
19:37 PHI EN – Jeff Carter (4) Backhand – Assists: M. Richards (15)

PENALTY SUMMARY

1st Period
03:11 PHI Kimmo Timonen : Roughing – 2 min
06:34 PHI Jeff Carter : Tripping – 2 min
07:41 MTL Marc-Andre Bergeron : Tripping – 2 min
11:20 MTL Josh Gorges : Interference – 2 min
16:03 PHI Arron Asham : Too many men/ice – bench – 2 min

2nd Period
08:48 MTL Mathieu Darche : Too many men/ice – bench – 2 min
11:03 PHI Matt Carle : Interference – 2 min
15:02 MTL Roman Hamrlik : Slashing – 2 min
16:14 MTL Brian Gionta : Hi-sticking – 2 min

3rd Period
09:12 PHI Chris Pronger : Hi stick – double minor – 4 min
11:49 MTL Glen Metropolit : Tripping – 2 min

Game 4 – Eastern Conference Finals

5/22/10 3-0 Win SCORING 1st 2nd 3rd OT Total PHI 0 2 1 - 3 MTL 0 0 0 - 0 _______________________________ SHOTS 1st 2nd 3rd OT Total PHI 5 13 7 - 25 MTL 7 1 9 - 17

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Game Wrapup

Philadelphia Flyers 3, Montreal Canadiens 0

Montreal, QC (Sports Network) – A little over two weeks ago, the Flyers were dealt a setback at home to be pushed to the brink of elimination in their semifinal series against the Bruins.

Amazingly, Philadelphia rallied for the historic comeback and is now one win away from its first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1997.

Claude Giroux and Ville Leino each scored in a dominant second period, as the Philadelphia Flyers defeated Montreal, 3-0, to grab a three-games-to-one lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Giroux added an empty-net goal in the late stages of regulation.

Michael Leighton, coming off his first postseason loss in Game 3, needed to make just 17 saves to post his third shutout of the series.

“It’s nice any time you get a shutout, but I’m not really concerned about shutouts right now, I’m concerned about winning,” Leighton said.

The seventh-seeded Flyers head home with the opportunity to secure the conference crown on Monday.

“We’ve responded all year from disappointing losses, and tonight was no different,” said Philadelphia captain Mike Richards. “I had full confidence that we would do that…we cycled, we didn’t turn the puck over, and that’s something we have to continue.”

Philadelphia welcomed back forwards Jeff Carter and Ian Laperriere to the lineup on Saturday.

Carter had been out of action since April 20, when he broke his foot in Game 4 of the quarterfinals against New Jersey, while Laperriere, a fearless shot blocker, missed 10 games with a mild concussion and brain contusion after absorbing a slapshot versus the Devils.

Jaroslav Halak turned away 22 shots for eighth-seeded Montreal, which failed to ride the wave of momentum following Thursday’s convincing 5-1 triumph at Bell Centre.

“We have to win the next one,” said Montreal forward Scott Gomez. “There is nothing else we can say. Good thing is we’ve got the experience and we’re ready to do it, but we’re going to have to be at our best to beat these guys, especially (on the road).”

The Canadiens are 5-0 in elimination contests this postseason.

The best save in a scoreless first period wasn’t made by either Leighton or Halak. Rather, Montreal’s Hal Gill came up with the biggest stop, stretching his 6-foot-7 frame along the goal line to smother a loose puck that had gotten behind Halak.

Philadelphia took control of the game with a methodical middle stanza. The Flyers won all the puck battles and continually pinned the Canadiens in the defensive zone, outshooting Montreal by a 13-1 margin.

Giroux put the visitors on the board at the 5:41 mark. Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges appeared to have a problem with a strap on his skate, allowing Giroux to drive to the net unimpeded and roof a shot.

Maxim Lapierre registered Montreal’s lone shot with 6:26 to play in the period.

Moments later, the Flyers capitalized on a turnover by P.K. Subban to grab a 2-0 lead. The rookie defenseman coughed up the puck at the Philadelphia blueline, as his teammates were completing a line change. Chris Pronger gathered the puck and fired an outlet pass to Leino, who beat Halak on a breakaway with 5:07 left.

The Canadiens’ listless power play went 0-for-2 in the third period and is 1- for-16 through the first four games of this series.

“We’ll have to regroup,” said Montreal head coach Jacques Martin. “We know how we have to play, and certain areas of our game need to be better. We’ll analyze this game today and dissect it and bring some solution and be ready to compete on Monday night.”

Game Notes

Philadelphia recorded 27 blocked shots…The Flyers are 3-0 in Game 4s this postseason…The Flyers are 18-2 when leading a series 3-1…Philadelphia forward Simon Gagne had a seven-game point streak halted.

Last updated: May 22, 2010 at 7:03 PM

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Scoring Summary

1st Period
none

2nd Period
05:41 PHI Claude Giroux (7) Wrist Shot – Assists: K. Timonen (7)
14:53 PHI Ville Leino (4) Wrist Shot – Assists: C. Pronger (10)

3rd Period
18:47 PHI EN – Claude Giroux (8) Wrist Shot – Assists: none

Penalty Summary

1st Period
05:32 MTL Roman Hamrlik : Roughing – 2 min
05:32 PHI Ian Laperriere : Roughing – 2 min
11:24 MTL Marc-Andre Bergeron : Holding – 2 min

2nd Period
06:59 MTL PK Subban : Holding – 2 min

3rd Period
06:35 PHI Matt Carle : Delaying Game-Puck over glass – 2 min
13:08 PHI Arron Asham : Interference on goalkeeper – 2 min
19:19 MTL Maxim Lapierre : Slashing – 2 min
19:36 PHI Kimmo Timonen : Hi-sticking – 2 min

Game 3 – Eastern Conference Finals

5/20/10 5-1 Loss PHI leads series 2-1 SCORING 1st 2nd 3rd OT Total PHI 0 0 1 - 1 MON 2 1 2 - 5 _______________________________ SHOTS 1st 2nd 3rd OT Total PHI 9 9 8 - 26 MON 17 11 10 - 38

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Montreal, QC (Sports Network) – Jaroslav Halak made 25 saves, as the Montreal Canadiens shoved back with a convincing 5-1 victory over Philadelphia in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals at Bell Centre.

The eighth-seeded Canadiens finally solved playoff novice Michael Leighton, who registered consecutive shutouts by turning away all 58 shots Montreal had fired at him in the first two games of this series.

Dominic Moore and Tom Pyatt both picked up a goal and one assist for the Habs, while Michael Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and Marc-Andre Bergeron also tallied.

“(Halak) made some big saves early in the game,” said Montreal head coach Jacques Martin. “I think that (Philadelphia) had three chances in the first five minutes of the hockey game. Then after that I think our team kind of took over and played a strong game at both ends of the ice.”

Montreal has been resilient this postseason, rallying from a 3-1 series deficit against Washington and a 3-2 hole against defending champion Pittsburgh in Round 2. The Canadiens will look to even this best-of-seven set when they host Game 4 on Saturday.

“We moved the puck much better tonight,” Gionta said. “We entered their zone a lot better tonight. Our forecheck was good.”

Simon Gagne scored in the third period for the seventh-seeded Flyers, who sported a 24-8 advantage in goals during their six-game winning streak.

A journeyman goalie claimed off of waivers by Philadelphia for the second time in his career back in December, Leighton had won four straight since taking over the starting job after Brian Boucher hurt both knees during Game 5 against Boston.

The Ontario native, who turned 29 on Wednesday, finished with 33 saves.

“I’m not going to dwell on them scoring that many goals. We know we have to play better defensively and offensively,” Leighton said.

The Canadiens rediscovered their scoring touch, beating Leighton twice in the first period.

Montreal rookie defenseman P.K. Subban unloaded a shot from the right point that sailed wide of the net and caromed off the glass. The puck came around the near post and Cammalleri jumped on the loose disc, sending it behind Leighton at 7:05.

Cammalleri’s NHL-leading 13th goal of the playoffs snapped Leighton’s shutout streak at 172 minutes, 55 seconds. He hadn’t allowed a goal since the first period of Game 7 versus the Bruins.

A ghastly turnover by Philadelphia’s Chris Pronger in the defensive zone resulted in a 2-0 lead for the home team. Moore gathered in the puck, and fired a wrister from the right wing. Maxim Lapierre tipped the shot off the near post before Pyatt pushed in the rebound at 16:52.

“Turnovers in any sport will kill you,” said Philadelphia head coach Peter Laviolette. “Doesn’t matter what sport it is. When things usually go south, no matter what sport, coach will sit up here and tell you the turnovers cost us the game. So we have to do a better job of fighting for the puck and keeping the puck.”

Moore made it a 3-0 game on a broken play in the high slot, snapping a low shot through Leighton’s pads at 11:33 of the middle stanza.

Gionta provided insurance two minutes into the third, breaking clear in the slot and sliding a shot under Leighton’s pad at the right post.

Gagne put the Flyers on the board at 8:22, but Bergeron capped the offensive surge with a power-play goal in the final minute.

Game Notes

Subban collected three assists…Montreal defenseman Roman Hamrlik had two assists and a plus-four rating…Pronger was a minus-3…Boucher owns the longest scoreless streak in Philadelphia playoff history, playing 184:45 of shutout hockey in the 2000 postseason…The Habs won for the first time in the 2010 playoffs when outshooting their opponents (1-5)…Montreal finished 1- for-7 on the power play. Philadelphia was a perfect 8-for-8 on the penalty kill in the first two games…Gagne has recorded a point in each of his seven games since returning from a broken toe…The Canadiens played the 700th postseason game in franchise history…The last goaltender to post a shutout in three straight playoff games was Ilya Bryzgalov with Anaheim in 2006…Leighton started four games for the Flyers after being claimed on waivers from Nashville during the 2006-07 campaign, going 2-2-0 with a 3.69 goals-against average and an .882 save percentage.

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Scoring Summary

1st Period
07:05 MTL Michael Cammalleri (13) Wrist Shot – Assists: P. Subban (4) & R. Hamrlik (7)
16:52 MTL Tom Pyatt (2) Tip-In – Assists: M. Lapierre (1) & D. Moore (1)

2nd Period
11:33 MTL Dominic Moore (4) Wrist Shot – Assists: T. Pyatt (2) & J. Gorges (2)

3rd Period
02:00 MTL Brian Gionta (8) Wrist Shot – Assists: R. Hamrlik (8) & P. Subban (5)
08:22 PHI Simon Gagne (7) Wrist Shot – Assists: D. Carcillo (4) & C. Pronger (9)
19:29 MTL Marc-Andre Bergeron (2) Slap Shot – Assists: P. Subban (6) & S. Gomez (11)

Penalty Summary

1st Period
00:27 MTL Ryan O’Byrne : Delaying Game-Puck over glass – 2 min
10:21 PHI Daniel Carcillo : Tripping – 2 min
18:27 PHI Chris Pronger : Tripping – 2 min
19:35 PHI Braydon Coburn : Hooking – 2 min

2nd Period
06:09 MTL Maxim Lapierre : Slashing – 2 min
08:24 PHI Ville Leino : Hooking – 2 min
13:03 PHI Kimmo Timonen : Roughing – 2 min
13:03 MTL Andrei Kostitsyn : Roughing – 2 min

3rd Period
03:37 MTL Tomas Plekanec : Roughing – 2 min
03:37 PHI Braydon Coburn : Roughing – 2 min
14:07 MTL Josh Gorges : Holding – 2 min
18:09 PHI Chris Pronger : Interference – 2 min
18:09 MTL Roman Hamrlik : Fighting (maj) – 5 min
18:09 PHI Scott Hartnell : Fighting (maj) – 5 min
18:09 PHI Mike Richards : Roughing – 2 min
18:09 PHI Danny Briere : Slashing – 2 min
18:09 MTL Jaroslav Spacek : Roughing – 2 min
18:09 MTL Jaroslav Spacek : Slashing – 2 min
19:01 PHI Braydon Coburn : Closing hand on puck – 2 min

Game 2 – Eastern Conference Finals

5/18/10 3-0 Win PHI leads series 2-0 SCORING 1st 2nd 3rd OT Total MON 0 0 0 - 0 PHI 1 1 1 - 3 _______________________________ SHOTS 1st 2nd 3rd OT Total MON 16 10 4 - 30 PHI 6 7 10 - 23

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – Michael Leighton stopped all 30 shots he faced, as the streaking Philadelphia Flyers stonewalled Montreal, 3-0, in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals at Wachovia Center.

Coming off his first career playoff shutout in the series opener, Leighton is 4-0 in his four postseason starts, allowing just four goals in those outings, since replacing an injured Brian Boucher during Game 5 against Boston.

Leighton will take a shutout streak of 165 minutes, 50 seconds into Game 3 on Thursday, when the series shifts to the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Danny Briere and Simon Gagne scored power-play goals for the seventh-seeded Flyers, who used a punishing forecheck to suppress the smaller Canadiens and come away with a resounding 6-0 win Sunday.

Ville Leino registered an even-strength goal and one assist for his third consecutive multi-point game.

Philadelphia has ripped off six straight wins since falling behind three games to none in its previous series with the Bruins, and is now remarkably two wins away from its first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 13 years.

History says a 2-0 start is a huge asset for Philadelphia. The Flyers are 16-0 all-time when winning the first two games of a postseason series.

Jaroslav Halak, yanked midway through the second period after allowing four goals on 14 shots in Game 1, made 20 saves for the eighth-seeded Canadiens, who have lost six straight playoff games to Philadelphia.

Montreal had not been blanked in successive playoff games since Bob Sauve of Buffalo did so in Games 1 and 2 of the 1983 Adams Division semifinals.

Briere staked the Flyers to a 1-0 lead with his team-leading ninth goal of the playoffs. On an abbreviated power play, Briere gathered a Claude Giroux pass and snapped a wrister from the outer edge of the right circle that deflected in off Halak’s glove at 4:16 of the first period.

Leighton was up to the task in the opening 20 minutes, turning aside all 16 shots fired his way. He came up big at the tail end of a Montreal power play midway through the frame, making three successive stops on Andrei Kostitsyn and a pair of follow-up chances by Michael Cammalleri from in tight.

Gagne gave the Flyers a two-goal cushion at 15:49 of the second. Philadelphia captain Mike Richards centered the puck from behind the Montreal net to Leino, whose backhander was denied by Halak. Gagne crashed the crease and swatted the rebound past the fallen goaltender.

Philadelphia led 3-0 when Halak whiffed with the glove hand on a long shot from a sharp angle along the outer edge of the left circle by Leino at 10:24 of the third.

After seeing the opposition put 26 shots on net in the first two periods, the Flyers erected a defensive wall around Leighton in the third. Montreal mustered just four shots on net — none of which were quality chances.

Game Notes

Leighton is the second Flyers goaltender to post back-to-back playoff shutouts, joining Bernie Parent (April 15-17, 1975, against Toronto)…Briere has a goal in each of the last four games and nine points (5g, 4a) during a six-game point streak…Gagne has a goal in three straight games and seven points (6g, 1a) in six games since returning from a broken toe…The Flyers are 6-1 as the host in this year’s playoffs…Philadelphia had lost its last four Game 2s…This series marks the first matchup between the two lowest seeds since the current playoff format was adopted in 1994…Montreal right- winger Brian Gionta had a game-high eight shots.

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Scoring Summary

1st Period
04:16 PHI PPG – Danny Briere (9) Snap Shot – Assists: C. Giroux (8) & K. Timonen (6)

2nd Period
15:49 PHI PPG – Simon Gagne (6) Wrist Shot – Assists: V. Leino (8) & M. Richards (13)

3rd Period
10:24 PHI Ville Leino (3) Snap Shot – Assists: L. Krajicek (1) & C. Pronger (8)

Penalty Summary

1st Period
02:02 PHI Lukas Krajicek : Slashing – 2 min
02:55 MTL Scott Gomez : Hooking – 2 min
07:11 PHI Ville Leino : Holding – 2 min
15:52 PHI Arron Asham : Too many men/ice – bench – 2 min

2nd Period
14:32 MTL Brian Gionta : Holding – 2 min

3rd Period
07:54 MTL Hal Gill : Interference – 2 min
14:21 PHI Arron Asham : Slashing – 2 min
16:40 MTL PK Subban : Slashing – 2 min

Game 1 – Eastern Conference Finals

5/16/10 6-0 Win SCORING 1st 2nd 3rd OT Total PHI 1 3 2 - 6 MON 0 0 0 - 0 _______________________________ SHOTS 1st 2nd 3rd OT Total PHI 6 10 9 - 25 MON 13 10 5 - 28

*** PostGame Interviews & Coach’s Press Conference ***

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – Michael Leighton made 28 saves to earn his first career playoff shutout, and the Philadelphia Flyers continued their torrid play with a 6-0 rout of the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Leighton, forced into action in the midst of the Flyers’ Game 5 conference semifinal series after Brian Boucher went down with a knee injury, improved to 3-0 in this postseason. Philadelphia, which remarkably recovered from a 0-3 series deficit to Boston in its previous series, has now ripped off five straight playoff wins for the first time since a six-game stretch in 1995.

“I’m obviously happy the way things went. It makes it easier when we score that many goals,” Leighton said. “I was seeing a lot of the pucks. They don’t have a big presence like Boston did…I just had to make the saves I should make in the first (period), and we kind of went from there.”

Braydon Coburn, Scott Hartnell, James van Riemsdyk, Claude Giroux and Danny Briere each posted a goal and an assist in the resounding victory to start what is one of the most unlikely of series. Philadelphia and Montreal enter this set as the seventh and eighth seed, respectively, giving the Flyers home- ice advantage for the first time in the post-lockout era. It is the first matchup between the two lowest seeds since the current playoff format was adopted in 1994.

Simon Gagne also scored for the Flyers, who will look to take a two-game series lead at home on Tuesday.

“You have to stay grounded,” Briere said. “It’s just one game. We know (the Canadiens are) going to come back a lot stronger in their next game. The goal was to keep home-ice advantage, so we’re halfway there. We need to win the next game at home, and we need to concentrate on that. We have to clear our minds — we’re happy about (this win), but let’s move on and concentrate on the next one.”

Jaroslav Halak, who helped the Habs notch unlikely series victories over Presidents’ Trophy-winning Washington and defending champion Pittsburgh, was scorched for four goals on only 14 shots. Carey Price made nine saves in relief of Halak, who was pulled midway through the second period.

The loss is the worst to start a series for Montreal since 1919.

“It’s a matter of adjusting our game and raising our level of intensity,” said Habs head coach Jacques Martin. “Tonight, we didn’t play a team game. We played an individual game, and you can’t be successful that way.”

The Canadiens controlled play for most of the first period, but the Flyers were the only team to find the back of the net.

Both teams were called for a penalty within 51 seconds of each other in the opening couple minutes, leaving the Flyers with a short power play at the tail end of the sequence. Philadelphia capitalized on its advantage, as Ville Leino drew a defenseman to the ground near the net and shoved the puck toward the cage. Halak was unable to corral the rebound, and Coburn stuffed it in at 3:55.

The Habs outshot the Flyers, 13-6, in the opening frame, but Leighton made a couple good saves to keep the Canadiens off the scoreboard. With 6:41 left, Leighton was able to steer away a fluttering puck from the point with his blocker, and he cut off Scott Gomez’s angle inside two minutes to make a pad stop.

The hosts picked up their play dramatically in the second period, scoring early and often to take a commanding lead.

Giroux won an offensive zone faceoff, skated toward the net and flicked the disc toward Halak. Van Riemsdyk was able to find it in front and push it past the netminder just 30 seconds into the period for a 2-0 cushion.

Just under four minutes later, a second after a Montreal penalty expired, Briere took a soft pass from Matt Carle at the top of the left circle and blistered a slapshot above Halak’s glove for a three-goal advantage.

Then, approaching the midway point of the period, Gagne’s wrister from the right wing found its way past a screened Halak, and the Habs went to Carey Price in net for the remainder of the game.

Hartnell scored at 12:13 of the third, and Giroux added another tally just over a minute later to cement the victory. Leighton needed to stop only five shots in the final 20 minutes to secure the whitewash.

Game Notes

The Flyers came into this postseason having lost six consecutive Game 1s but have won two of three this season…Montreal had allowed only 12 goals in its previous six games…Philadelphia has won 21 of 28 series when winning Game 1…Briere has a three-game goal streak and a five-game point streak, and Gagne has a five-game point streak…Philadelphia is now 5-1 at home in the postseason, and Montreal is 5-4 on the road…The Habs have won three of the five postseason meetings between these clubs, although the Flyers won the last meeting in the 2008 conference semis…Leino and Carle both had two assists…Giroux has a plus-four rating.

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SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period
03:55 PHI PPG – Braydon Coburn (1) Wrist Shot – Assists: S. Hartnell (5) & V. Leino (6)

2nd Period
00:30 PHI James van Riemsdyk (2) Wrist Shot – Assists: C. Giroux (7)
04:23 PHI Danny Briere (8) Slap Shot – Assists: M. Carle (8)
09:53 PHI PPG – Simon Gagne (5) Snap Shot – Assists: B. Coburn (2) & V. Leino (7)

3rd Period
12:13 PHI Scott Hartnell (3) Snap Shot – Assists: D. Briere (9) & M. Carle (9)
13:26 PHI Claude Giroux (6) Backhand – Assists: A. Asham (2) & J. van Riemsdyk (2)

PENALTY SUMMARY

1st Period
01:13 PHI Chris Pronger : Cross checking – 2 min
02:04 MTL Scott Gomez : Roughing – 2 min

2nd Period
02:22 MTL Maxim Lapierre : Roughing – 2 min
05:36 PHI Chris Pronger : Interference – 2 min
07:57 MTL Andrei Kostitsyn : Boarding – 2 min
12:41 PHI Daniel Carcillo : Roughing – 2 min
19:10 MTL Tom Pyatt : Interference on goalkeeper – 2 min

3rd Period
08:17 PHI Braydon Coburn : Interference – 2 min
09:55 MTL Scott Gomez : Slashing – 2 min
14:01 MTL Jaroslav Spacek : Interference – 2 min

4/2/10 1-0 Loss SCORING 1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Total PHI 0 0 0 - - 0 MTL 1 0 0 - - 1 _______________________________ SHOTS 1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Total PHI 8 14 13 - - 35 MTL 9 11 3 - - 23

*** PostGame Interviews & Coach’s Press Conference ***

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – Jaroslav Halak stopped all 35 shots he faced to post his fourth shutout of the season as Montreal clipped Philadelphia, 1-0, at Wachovia Center.

“Especially in third period, the puck was all over me,” Halak said of the home team’s pressure. “I was lucky but we’ll take it.”

Tomas Plekanec recorded the lone score for the Canadiens, who had lost five of six coming in but with the victory moved alone into sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 84 points, two ahead of Philadelphia and idle Boston.

Brian Boucher suffered another tough defeat, making 22 saves for the Flyers, who lost for the seventh time in eight games and were blanked at home for the first time since December 10.

“We played a good game,” Boucher admitted. “I don’t see there’s anything to be really discouraged about other than the fact that we didn’t get the result we wanted.”

Plekanec put the Habs up at 9:25 of the first period when he one-timed an Andrei Kostitsyn feed from the high slot.

Boucher, though, withstood several Montreal bursts in the offensive zone, ending with eight other stops through one period.

Both netminders battled in the scoreless second period, with Halak needing to be strong on a breakaway by Arron Asham early on, then stopping two successive chances by Mike Richards at the right post with five minutes remaining.

Boucher foiled Scott Gomez from in close in the opening minutes, then fended off a Brian Gionta shot from a 3-on-1 break midway through.

Philadelphia rookie James van Riemsdyk had a goal wiped out on a power play at the 4:22 mark of the third when it was ruled that he touched the puck with a high stick. He was also denied with five minutes remaining as Halak got his shoulder on a rising shot, then dove to the post to turn away Richards’ bid in the crease.

Boucher was called to the bench for an extra attacker with 1:34 to play, briefly returned to the crease with 41.6 to go, then departed with less than 20 seconds left.

The Flyers had to defend several Canadiens chances to the empty net but could not generate quality chances on offense before time expired.

“It’s a playoff game,” Gionta said. “There’s no doubt. We were tied in the standings and each game is huge.”

Game Notes

Halak recorded his eighth career whitewash…The clubs split four meetings this season, with each team winning once at home and once on the road…The Canadiens have won nine of the last 12 meetings with the Flyers since the start of the 2007-08 campaign…Earlier Friday, Philly signed veteran goaltender Sebastien Caron for the remainder of the season. Caron last played in the NHL in 2006-07 with Anaheim and had been playing in Switzerland this year.

Content Copyright 2008, The Sports Network. Distributed by XML Team Solutions.
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SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period
09:25 MTL Tomas Plekanec (24) Wrist Shot – Assists: A. Kostitsyn (17) & M. Bergeron (20)

2nd Period
NONE

3rd Period
NONE

PENALTY SUMMARY

1st Period
NONE

2nd Period
03:59 MTL Hal Gill : Interference – 2 min
05:53 PHI Lukas Krajicek : Interference – 2 min
18:30 PHI Danny Briere : Hi-sticking – 2 min
18:30 MTL Andrei Markov : Hi-sticking – 2 min
19:25 PHI Simon Gagne : Tripping – 2 min

3rd Period
02:41 MTL Benoit Pouliot : Hooking – 2 min

2/13/10 6-2 Win SCORING 1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Total PHI 3 2 1 - - 6 MON 0 1 1 - - 2 _______________________________ SHOTS 1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Total PHI 9 8 9 - - 26 MON 7 11 10 - - 28

*** PostGame Interviews & Coach’s Press Conference ***

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Montreal, QC (Sports Network) – Danny Briere registered his first hat trick of the season, as Philadelphia dominated Montreal, 6-2, in the finale of a home-and-home set from Bell Centre.

Blair Betts, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards also lit the lamp for the Flyers, who closed out their pre-Olympic schedule with four consecutive wins.

Michael Leighton earned his 13th victory of the season by making 26 saves.

“We had a couple home-and-homes there. It was important for us to come in and get off to a good start,” said Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger. “A 3-0 lead set the tone for our bench. We took it from there, we didn’t want to sit back as we did last night. Betts’ shorthand goal set the tone for the rest of the night.”

Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez registered power-play tallies for the Canadiens, who have dropped three of four in advance of the league’s shutdown.

Jaroslav Halak allowed five goals on 17 shots through two periods. Carey Price finished the game stopping eight of the nine shots he faced.

Briere lifted a rebound over Halak to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead 4:37 into the contest, and Richards snuck a shot inside the right post at 11:10 for a two- goal lead and a power-play score.

Philadelphia took a 3-0 lead when Carter backhanded a bouncing puck past a sliding Halak with 4:10 left in the period.

“Obviously this wasn’t the start we wanted, and it hurt us,” Gionta admitted. “Before this weekend, we were three ahead and now it’s reversed. Not the games we wanted to play. It is what it is now. We’ll have to regroup after the break with 19 games left and try to make a push.”

The Canadiens finally solved Leighton on a power play at 6:59 of the second period when Gionta tipped Roman Hamrlik’s point shot, but Betts tallied on a short-handed breakaway at 10:38.

Briere gave the Flyers a 5-1 cushion on the man advantage with six seconds to play when he tipped in a Pronger point shot.

Gomez tipped in a Hamrlik shot early in a Habs power play for a 5-2 game at 6:06 of the third period, then Briere got a chance for a third goal after he was awarded a penalty shot with 9:07 left in the game.

He made a stick-fake on Price, pulled the goaltender to the left side, and lifted a backhander high for a 6-2 lead.

“On the penalty shot, when I’m in the middle of the ice, I think about the different moves I have available,” said Briere of his mindset. “All I was thinking about was the crowd booing me, and in a sense, it was a good thing. It cleared my mind and gave me a chance to not even think about the shot. Coming down on Price, I had a couple ideas, but in the end I changed my mind about the shot and it worked.”

Game Notes

Briere’s last three-goal game occurred on November 21, 2007 at Carolina…The Flyers resume play on March 2 at Tampa Bay and the Canadiens return to the ice that same day in Boston…It was the most goals the Flyers scored in Montreal in a regular-season tilt since a 6-2 decision on October 15, 2002.

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Scoring Summary

1st Period
04:37 PHI Danny Briere (19) Backhand – Assists: O. Bartulis (8) & S. Hartnell (22)
11:10 PHI PPG – Mike Richards (24) Wrist Shot – Assists: S. Gagne (19) & C. Giroux (23)
15:50 PHI Jeff Carter (27) Backhand – Assists: M. Carle (22) & S. Hartnell (23)

2nd Period
06:59 MTL PPG – Brian Gionta (17) Tip-In – Assists: R. Hamrlik (18) & J. Spacek (16)
10:38 PHI SHG – Blair Betts (7) Wrist Shot – Assists: none
19:54 PHI PPG – Danny Briere (20) Tip-In – Assists: C. Pronger (34)

3rd Period
06:06 MTL PPG – Scott Gomez (10) Wrist Shot – Assists: R. Hamrlik (19) & P. Subban (2)
10:53 PHI PS – Danny Briere (21) Backhand – Assists: none

Penalty Summary

1st Period
00:04 PHI Ian Laperriere : Fighting (maj) – 5 min
00:04 MTL Ryan O’Byrne : Fighting (maj) – 5 min
09:35 MTL Glen Metropolit : Hi-sticking – 2 min
17:13 PHI Arron Asham : Holding – 2 min

2nd Period
00:16 MTL Maxim Lapierre : Roughing – 2 min
00:16 PHI Lukas Krajicek : Roughing – 2 min
05:40 PHI Arron Asham : Tripping – 2 min
10:10 PHI Braydon Coburn : Holding – 2 min
15:29 MTL Tomas Plekanec : Interference – 2 min
19:07 MTL Jaroslav Spacek : Tripping – 2 min

3rd Period
01:36 PHI Chris Pronger : Hooking – 2 min
05:57 PHI Darroll Powe : Boarding – 2 min
10:53 MTL Ryan O’Byrne : PS – Tripping on breakaway – 0 min
11:18 PHI Oskars Bartulis : Holding – 2 min

02/12/10 3-2 Win SCORING 1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Total MTL 0 0 2 - - 3 PHI 1 2 0 - - 3 _______________________________ SHOTS 1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Total MTL 6 7 12 - - 25 PHI 11 12 10 - - 33

*** PostGame Interviews & Coach’s Press Conference ***

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Game Wrapup

Philadelphia Flyers 3, Montreal Canadiens 2

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – Jeff Carter scored twice as the Philadelphia Flyers held off the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2, in the chippy opener of a home-and-home set.

Matt Carle also scored, while Michael Leighton made 23 saves for the Flyers, who were coming off a home-and-home sweep of the Devils. They will have a chance for another Saturday, the last game for both clubs before the Olympic break.

Glen Metropolit and Dominic Moore scored back-to-back early in the third period for the Canadiens. But the Flyers held on in a contest that concluded with a lengthy post-game scrum after Darroll Powe boarded Jaroslav Spacek late in the final period.

Carey Price made 30 saves in the loss.

Carter put the Flyers on top with 1:46 left in the opening period, when he stuffed in a puck in front. Then, 1:17 into the second frame he rifled a point shot that slipped past Price.

Two minutes later, the Flyers looked like they’d make it a runaway, as Montreal defenseman Ryan O’Byrne inadvertently tipped Carle’s shot past Price for a 3-0 Philadelphia edge.

But the Habs got close with a pair of scores early in the third. At the 2:05 mark, Metropolit tallied on a snap shot, and only 56 seconds later, Moore scored in his first game with his new club, as he was acquired from Florida on Thursday.

Moore gathered a loose puck to the left of the net and appeared to bounce a wrister off Leighton’s back into the goal.

Montreal got a power-play chance in the final minute, after Powe rammed Spacek into the end boards with 59 seconds to play. After the hit, Spacek curled up on the ice, grabbing his face, and eventually skated off the ice with his head facing down.

Powe was issued a boarding major and game misconduct at the same time Montreal’s Roman Hamrlik was whistled for roughing, but the Canadiens weren’t able to net the tying goal.

After the final buzzer sounded, players from both teams gathered together. A few fights broke out to escalate the issue, leaving gloves and sticks littered on the ice. Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen and Montreal forward Scott Gomez were both given roughing penalties, while Timonen also got a misconduct penalty.

Game Notes

The Flyers were 0-for-6 on the power play, while Montreal went 0-for-3…The Canadiens have lost two of three overall…Scott Hartnell had a pair of assists for Philadelphia.
Last updated: February 12, 2010 at 9:09 PM

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Scoring Summary

1st Period
18:14 PHI Jeff Carter (25) Backhand – Assists: S. Hartnell (20) & D. Briere (19)

2nd Period
01:17 PHI Jeff Carter (26) Slap Shot – Assists: S. Hartnell (21) & B. Coburn (12)
03:17 PHI Matt Carle (4) Tip-In – Assists: D. Powe (5) & B. Betts (5)

3rd Period
02:05 MTL Glen Metropolit (13) Snap Shot – Assists: T. Moen (7) & P. Subban (1)
03:01 MTL Dominic Moore (9) Wrist Shot – Assists: R. Hamrlik (17) & J. Spacek (15)

Penalty Summary

1st Period
16:08 MTL Ryan O’Byrne : Interference – 2 min
19:07 MTL Scott Gomez : Hooking – 2 min

2nd Period
06:10 PHI Chris Pronger : Holding – 2 min
08:11 MTL Josh Gorges : Hi-sticking – 2 min
18:21 PHI Braydon Coburn : Delaying Game-Puck over glass – 2 min

3rd Period
04:13 MTL PK Subban : Tripping – 2 min
05:44 MTL Dominic Moore : Tripping – 2 min
07:39 MTL Sergei Kostitsyn : Tripping – 2 min
19:01 PHI Darroll Powe : Boarding (maj) – 5 min
19:01 PHI Darroll Powe : Game misconduct – 0 min
19:01 MTL Roman Hamrlik : Roughing – 2 min
20:00 PHI Kimmo Timonen : Roughing – 2 min
20:00 PHI Kimmo Timonen : Misconduct (10 min) – 0 min
20:00 MTL Scott Gomez : Roughing – 2 min