The Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers faced off in a pivotal Game 4 that could potentially decide the series. They didn’t get off to the best start as the Flyers raced out of the gates. Through the first six minutes of play, the Habs failed to register a single shot.
Philadelphia scored the first goal of the game, as off of a turnover, Michael Raffl got the puck and fired a wrist shot top shelf on Carey Price. Jesperi Kotkaniemi was given the only penalty of the period, but luckily for Montreal, the Flyers power play continued to struggle.
The Canadiens finally woke up and got some great chances of their own, but again, their lack of finish plagued unfortunately plagued them from anything more. The period ended with Montreal trailing and being outshot by the Flyers, 10-4.
Montreal began the second period, once again looking for that goal that would balance the score with Philadelphia at one. They had an opportunity when winger Scott Laughton was sent to the penalty box, being charged for tripping. The Habs power play, which had been struggling, couldn’t even manage to register a shot on goal.
It got worse for Montreal, as with three minutes left in the period, the Flyers added to their lead thanks to Phillipe Myers. The defensemen took a shot that was bouncing and did so off of Price’s pad and right into the net. That doubled Philadelphia’s lead, meaning the Canadiens had work to do in the third or else would be facing elimination in game five.
The goal was simple for the Canadiens in the game’s final frame; simply get on the scoreboard. Montreal seemed to have picked the wrong moment to go on a scoring slump. Carter Hart was playing stellar in net and the Flyers defence was doing a great job blocking shots. All in all, they weren’t letting the Canadiens enter the goal crease.
There were three penalties in the game’s third period with two for Montreal and one for Philadelphia. Despite that, nothing came about for either side. The game ended with a 2-0 final and the Flyers shut out the Canadiens for a second straight game for the 3-1 series lead. The Habs now face the daunting task of coming back on Wednesday to try and stave off elimination.
Game five goes Wednesday in Toronto with puck drop scheduled for 8:00pmET. The Canadiens are running out of time and will need a repeat performance of Game 2 if they want to stay alive while also forcing a sixth game.
Puck drop is scheduled to take place at 8:00pmET at Scotiabank Arena. The game is available for viewing on Sportsnet Ontario, CBC and NBCSN, meanwhile, it can be heard via radio on TSN 690 and 98.5fm. It will also be carried in Canadiens region on TVA Sports to be watched in French.