Canadian 2 — Flyers 3 (TB) | Stolen points

(Philadelphia) In theory, it was supposed to be a duel between two similar teams. Two fairly young clubs, at the heart of a reconstruction process. But also two opponents whose leaders have expressed the wish to play “significant” matches as late as possible this season.

If Wednesday’s duel in Philadelphia was at all representative of where the two organizations concerned are, we can bet that the Flyers will stay in the game longer than the Canadian, who left the amphitheater, almost like a thief, with a point gleaned thanks to a 3-2 shootout loss.

Let us understand each other well. The Flyers, despite their surprising successes in the first months of the campaign, are to be confused neither with Jacques Lemaire’s Devils on the defensive level nor with the Islanders of the 1980s on the offensive level. However, if we agree to consider the shot attempts on goal as an indicator of the pace of the match, it was never close, whatever the score says.

The 79 attempts granted represent the 4th^e campaign total. And the 47 attempts of CH are at 6^e rank of worst totals over 40 games. The 18 shots on target after 60 minutes equaled the lowest salvo to date. All this on a short Wednesday, against a team which, probably, will not be in the next playoffs.

“We didn’t have our fast ball,” said Martin St-Louis after the game. We didn’t play a good game. We didn’t have any energy, it seemed. Something was missing. »

And added: “This evening, we weren’t there. » A fair and honest observation that David Savard also made.

After three days without playing, during which Montreal held two full practices, and after an emotional victory against a league power last Saturday, how can we justify such a bland performance?

“Sometimes there is no explanation,” St-Louis admitted. It’s a demanding season… For whatever reason, you don’t have your legs that night. If we knew why, maybe we would do different things. […] Sometimes you think you’re doing whatever you think will work, and you don’t have your legs. It’s like that. »

Impression

It’s true that it’s like that. A journalist pointed out to the head coach that at least his team did not often experience such poor performances.

This is not false if we consider the 40 matches that the Flannel played in 2023-2024. The 17-17-6 record, on the surface, is not catastrophic.

But Martin St-Louis’ men have only won two of their last seven matches. We talked about shooting attempts above. Of the four matches where CH allowed the most, three took place in 2024.

If we’re looking for failures, we don’t have to go far back to find one. Just last Thursday, this team abandoned Jake Allen to the Buffalo Sabres, victorious 6-1.

The Flyers “were faster than us tonight,” admitted Martin St-Louis. “We were too slow, everywhere on the ice,” added Nick Suzuki.

Goalie Cayden Primeau, who said he was dissatisfied with his start to the match, but who was imperious in the third period and in overtime, spoke of the opponent’s “patience”. Let’s insist: despite all the good things that can be said about the Flyers, there was no good reason for the Canadian to look so bad.

St-Louis, finally, celebrated three times the fact that its team had collected a ranking point. “All points have value,” added Nick Suzuki.

More critically, David Savard spoke of this point as a “bonus” which he did not “expect”. Adding a second point – the score was, after all, close – would have been “miraculous” in his eyes.

The fact is that the Habs have become a specialist in the art of stealing points. He has already played in overtime 15 times. In a 3-2-1 point system, he would get murdered. Well served by the rules in place, it rather gives the impression of staying afloat.

After 40 games, the Canadian is five points ahead of last year’s performance at this point, thanks to one win and three more overtime losses.

Is there a progression there? In a way, yes. But some nights, like Wednesday in Philadelphia, it seems more like an impression, even an illusion.

Rising: Jayden Struble

From match to match, the young defender seems to gain confidence. In the third period, when he was under pressure in possession of the disc, he never lost his composure and got out of trouble alone like a big man. He also blocked two shots.

Down: Nick Suzuki

His trio was completely muzzled by that of Sean Couturier. Even in the shootout, a specialty of the center player, the captain seemed to fall flat.

The number of the match: 7

Including shootouts, this is the number of pucks that hit the posts or the horizontal bar behind Cayden Primeau. The guard admitted, at the end of the evening, that he owed them a debt.

In details

No mercy for Cutter Gauthier

Flyers fans have always been known for their proverbial delicacy. The recent controversy surrounding Cutter Gauthier has only added another log to their inner fire. Quick summary: not only did the young forward, the organization’s best prospect, refuse to sign a contract with the team that drafted him fifth overall in 2022, but he never even wanted to speak in person with club management. He was finally traded last Monday to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Jamie Drysdale. The latter played his first game in his new uniform on Wednesday, and he obtained his first point in the second period, an assist on Morgan Frost’s power play goal. After roaring when the house announcer said Drysdale’s name, part of the crowd sang a colorful chant, to say the least, addressed to Gauthier. We will not reproduce the refrain word for word in a family newspaper, but we will mention the repeated mention of the name of an animal that went to Alaska to spin balloons on its nose.

History before our eyes

One might have thought that this fairly ordinary match had nothing historic in it. Think again. Sam Ersson wrote his name in the annals of the circuit by giving in on the Habs’ only two shots on target in the first period. And again, the notion of shooting is stretched here, since on the visitors’ second success, the puck gently floated above the Flyers goalie. All this to say that it was only the second time, since shots on goal were counted by the NHL, that a goalie did not stop any of the shots received during an engagement. The only one to have done it before him: Antero Nittymäki, also of the Flyers, in 2007. It is difficult to describe in words the chance that the spectators on site and the viewers at home had to witness this moment of anthology.

Goodbye, Gustav

The Gustav Lindström era is over in Montreal. The Swedish defenseman will continue his career with the Anaheim Ducks, who claimed him off waivers on Wednesday. Lindstrom, 25, was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings last summer in the trade that sent Jeff Petry to the Auto City. Cut by the Habs at the end of training camp, the right-hander was quickly called up as reinforcement after David Savard suffered a broken hand. In 14 games, he did some decent work, while he was mostly employed in a supporting role. He scored a goal and collected four points. When Savard returned to form in December, however, he was removed from the lineup and no longer played. The club’s management finally resigned itself to submitting its name to waivers in order to free up a place in the lineup for the imminent return of Rafael Harvey-Pinard, and the Ducks claimed it. We wish him good luck in his new challenges.