The Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens couldn’t spend much time celebrating after picking up much-needed wins on Saturday.
The Flyers welcome the Canadiens to South Philadelphia on Sunday evening in a matchup of teams looking to complete a stellar weekend.
Philadelphia won its season opener in overtime against the Vancouver Canucks but then dropped six games in a row (0-5-1), leaving the team without a regulation victory through seven games. That drought came to an end Saturday as the Flyers posted a 7-5 win over the Minnesota Wild.
Sean Couturier recorded a hat trick and dished out two assists and Travis Konecny also provided a five-point performance (one goal, four assists). Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen had a key goal late in the third period to help the Flyers win for the first time in more than two weeks.
However, it was Couturier who got the headlines after notching his first goal since Feb. 10 and his first hat trick since January 2019.
“I thought I was getting some chances lately, (but the) puck just wasn’t going in,” said Couturier, who completed the hat trick by scoring into the empty net with one minute remaining in the third period.
“You have those nights sometimes where everything seems to go in and the puck finds you. Just like those rebounds, they just seemed to kind of pop back at me every time. So those are nice, and you’ve got to take advantage of those.”
Konecny was happy for his long-time teammate after Couturier set a new personal best for points in a game.
“Coots is one of those guys who puts in the effort every day,” Konecny said. “He tries hard, he’s always a pro during practice, off the ice, and he’s always doing the right things. It was just a matter of time before he had a game like this.”
Montreal had a bit of a sweet redemption story on Saturday, as well. Kirby Dach, who missed most of last season with a serious knee injury, registered his first goal since March 23, 2023, in a 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues.
“It was nice to get it in front of the fans,” Dach said after helping his team snap a four-game losing streak (0-3-1). “They were really supportive all year last year and have been early this year. It’s been a long road since I scored a goal. So, it was nice to get that one, but even better to get the two points as a team and play a complete game.”
It will be interesting to see if Philadelphia coach John Tortorella goes with Samuel Ersson in net for the second straight day. Flyers backup goalie Ivan Fedotov has struggled on the young season, allowing 14 goals on 78 shots. The team also recalled netminder Emil Andrae from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Saturday.
One player who certainly won’t be taking the ice Sunday for the Flyers is rookie forward Jett Luchanko, who has been returned to his junior team, the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League.
“The decision to send Jett back is something we strongly believe is the right path for him and his development,” general manager Daniel Briere said.
Montreal went 2-0-1 against Philadelphia in 2023-24 and has won the season series between the teams in each of the past three campaigns.
–Field Level Media
