Canadiens take huge step toward playoff spot with win over Flyers
The Canadiens extended their lead in the race for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 3-2 win over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.
MONTREAL — Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist as the Montreal Canadiens scored three goals in the third period to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Saturday night.
Suzuki’s short-handed goal gave him 83 points on the season. Brendan Gallagher — with his 20th of the campaign — and Lane Hutson also scored for Montreal (37-30-9), which won its fourth straight amid a tight playoff race.
Sam Montembeault made 21 saves in his fifth consecutive start.
Ryan Poehling and Tyson Foerster replied for Philadelphia (31-37-9) in its first loss in four games. Samuel Ersson stopped 24 shots at the Bell Centre.
The Flyers fell to 3-1-0 under interim head coach Brad Shaw, who replaced John Tortorella after his firing on March 27. Philadelphia beat Montreal 6-4 at home later that day.
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The Canadiens, who hold the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, gave themselves a four-point cushion over the New York Rangers. The Flyers, meanwhile, ranked third-last in the East.
Poehling opened the scoring after a nice passing play in transition with Cam York and Jakob Pelletier 4:10 into the first period.
Gallagher tied the game 1:24 into the third before Hutson scored a highlight-reel goal off an end-to-end rush 76 seconds later to give Montreal the lead. Suzuki added to the onslaught with an impressive individual effort midway through the period.
Foerster cut the lead to 3-2 with 39 seconds remaining.
TAKEAWAYS
Canadiens: Played without winger Josh Anderson, who missed the game for “personal reasons” after telling reporters Thursday his wife was expecting their first child any day. Oliver Kapanen — who rejoined the Canadiens on Wednesday after spending the bulk of his season in Sweden — drew into the lineup.
Flyers: Karsen Dorwart made his NHL debut after signing with Philadelphia out of Michigan State last week. The 22-year-old college free agent had 31 points in 35 games with the Spartans.
KEY MOMENT
Hutson floated the puck from a sharp angle near the goal line and fooled Ersson with a shot into the top right corner. It wasn’t immediately clear the shot went in the net until the referee signalled a goal and Hutson began celebrating his sixth of the season. A deafening applause followed for the fan favourite.
KEY STAT
Hutson, with 63 points, moved one behind Chris Chelios for the most points by a rookie defenceman in Canadiens franchise history.
UP NEXT
Canadiens: Visit the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
Flyers: Visit the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
