Canadiens vs. Flyers Game 1 Prediction, Stanley Cup Playoff Odds
The Montreal Canadiens were the last team in the 24-club restart NHL playoff field, and they’re still going with the eight-seeded Habs facing the No. 1 Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of their best-of-7 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET) in Toronto. The Flyers are game and series favourites on the NHL odds.
Canadiens vs. Flyers NHL Stanley Cup Odds
Who would have guessed in, say, early March that the Canadiens would be playing longer than the Maple Leafs or Pittsburgh Penguins this season? Montreal’s 71 regular-season points were the fewest of any team invited to play extra hockey, but it stunned Sidney Crosby and the Penguins in four games in their qualifying round series. Philadelphia, meanwhile, entered the round-robin portion as the East’s No. 4 seed but beat Boston, Washington and Tampa Bay to earn the No. 1.
The Flyers won the regular-season series 2-1, with both their victories in overtime. The most recent meeting was on Jan. 16 in Philadelphia and the Canadiens won 4-1. Ilya Kovalchuk scored twice; he was later traded to Washington. The favourite is 14-5 in the past 19 meetings.
To win the Eastern Conference, the Flyers are now +250 favourites, while Montreal is a +1500 long shot.
Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price started all four games of the qualifying round against Pittsburgh and didn’t allow more than three goals in any of them. He finished off the Penguins with a shutout and had a 1.67 goals-against average and .947 save per centage in the series. His three career series-clinching shutouts trail only Dallas’ Ben Bishop (4) and Vegas’ Marc-Andre Fleury (4) for the most among active goaltenders. It was Price’s sixth playoff shutout overall and first since Game 6 of the 2015 East quarterfinals vs. Ottawa.
Defenceman Shea Weber (2G, 2A) and centre Paul Byron (1G, 3A) led Montreal with four points each vs. Pittsburgh. Jeff Petry had three points (2G, 1A), including the Game 1 winner in overtime. Tomas Tatar led the Canadiens with 61 points in the regular season but had zero vs. Pittsburgh. He did play very well defensively. Evgeni Malkin, for example, had just one point for the Pens. Montreal is 7-16 in its past 23 Wednesday games.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers were red hot when the league shut down and lost no momentum in the round-robin tournament in beating the Bruins, Capitals and Lightning by a combined score of 11-3. Stellar young netminder Carter Hart allowed two goals on 59 shots in two starts; Brian Elliott started one game but probably won’t see the ice for this series barring a blowout or Hart injury. Hart, from Alberta, grew up idolizing Price. Hart is the fourth Flyers goaltender to win each of his first two career postseason appearances.
The Flyers romped past three good teams despite going 0-for-11 on the power play. Scott Laughton led with five points (3G, 2A). Kevin Hayes had four points (all assists). It’s the seventh time Philadelphia and Montreal meet in the playoffs. The Flyers have won the past two. It’s also the first time since 2000 that Philly is the top-seeded team in its conference. The Flyers haven’t won the East since 2010 or the Cup since 1975. One key Flyer, winger Jakub Voracek, is expected to be a game-time decision for Game 1. He missed the Lightning game with an undisclosed injury. Voracek was third on the team in points during the season with 56.
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PHI