Pregame Preview: Canadiens at Flyers (Game #45)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens (25-14-5) are in Philly Wednesday night to face the Flyers (22-17-4). The game is set to start at 7:30 and can be seen on RDS and TSN.

This is the third and final meeting between the Habs and Flyers this season, each team has won on home ice. Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist and Jakub Voracek had a pair of helpers for the Flyers in their 2-1 win a month ago.

What to Watch:

Carey Price saved 16 of 16 third period shots against the Panthers on Monday to preserve Montreal's 2-1 lead and secure a victory for the Habs. The performance was a welcome turnaround from his recent play, Price had allowed 13 goals in the previous 3 games although the netminder has still managed to earn at least one point in each of his last 6 starts, including Monday's win.

The Flyers are coming off a 3-2 overtime win against the Devils Tuesday night, Brayden Schenn scored the winner and picked up an assist in the victory. Flyers leading scorer, Claude Giroux, has goals in back to back games. Scott Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds may be the hottest Flyer of late, Hartnell extended his point scoring streak to 8 games with a goal against the Devils while Simmonds has 14 points in his last 10 games.

What's at Stake:

The race for top spot in the Atlantic division is heating up, the Bruins, Bolts and Habs are separated by just 3 points with half a season of hockey left to play. Montreal is at the bottom of that pile and both teams hold a game in hand, so every win helps close the gap for the Canadiens.

Who's Out:

Alex Galchenyuk suffered a broken hand in Montreal's win against the Panthers, the early reports have him out until the end of the Olympics. Ryan White (upper body) is out for two weeks but George Parros has been cleared to play and should be in the lineup Wednesday night. Davis Drewiske (shoulder) is still out long term.

For the Flyers, Matt Read has missed the past 3 games with an upper body injury, Erik Gustafsson (knee) could be nearing a return, but did not play against the Devils Tuesday.

What Else:

The Canadiens had 8 players named to their respective national Olympic teams. Max Pacioretty for Team USA, Tomas Plekanec, the slated captain for the Czech Republic, Slovakia's Peter Budaj, Swizterland's Raphael Diaz, Andrei Markov and Alexei Emelin for Russia and Canada's PK Subban and Carey Price.

At the other end of the ice, the Flyers will be sending 5 players to Sochi in February. Kimmo Timonen for Finland, Mark Streit for the Swiss, Michael Raffl for Team Austria, Czech Jakub Voracek and Slovak Andrej Mezaros all received the honor. Missing from that list is Canadian Claude Giroux, who was not named to the team when the roster was announced on Tuesday.

The Question Mark:

We want to hear from you: what was the biggest surprise surrounding the announcement of the Olympic rosters?

Let us know what you think, leave a comment or send us a tweet by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

Be sure to tune into the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show an hour before the puck drop and the Post Game Show 5 minutes after the final siren. Join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

Posted in: alex galchenyuk,carey price,claude giroux,montreal canadiens,Philadelphia Flyers,scott hartnell,wayne simmonds