March 28, 2023: Canadiens at Flyers — five things you should know


Cayden Primeau will start in goal for Habs after getting called up from AHL’s Laval Rocket.

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Here are five things you should know about Tuesday’s game between the Canadiens (30-38-6) and Flyers (28-32-12) in Philadelphia (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

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Primeau gets start: Cayden Primeau will start in goal for the Canadiens after getting called up from the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Monday. Primeau has played one game in the NHL this season, replacing Samuel Montembeault for the third period of a 6-2 loss to the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre on Jan. 19. Primeau stopped six of the seven shots he faced. Last season, Primeau played 12 games with the Canadiens, posting a 1-7-1 record with a 4.62 goals-against average and an .868 save percentage. With the Rocket this season, Primeau has a 14-14-6 record with a 3.13 GAA and a .906 save percentage.

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Gally goals: Brendan Gallagher scored for the second straight game in the Canadiens’ 4-3 shootout win over the Sabres Monday night in Buffalo. In the four games he has played since missing 32 games with a lower-body injury, Gallagher has 2-1-3 totals, giving him 6-6-12 totals in 29 games this season. Gallagher’s goal against the Sabres was the 200th of his NHL career. The Canadiens selected Gallagher in the fifth round (147th overall) of the 2010 NHL draft. Only eight players selected at that year’s draft have scored 200 goals.

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Another goal for Belzile: Alex Belzile scored a beautiful goal against the Sabres, first faking a slapshot while breaking down the right wing before beating goalie Eric Comrie high to the short side for his second goal in two games. Belzile has five goals in the last 12 games and has 6-8-14 totals in 28 games since getting called up from Laval.

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Matheson’s streak continues: Defenceman Mike Matheson picked up an assist against the Sabres, extending his point streak to four games with 1-5-6 totals over that span. Matheson also logged a team-high 29:05 of ice time against the Sabres. In 23 games since the all-star break, Matheson has 7-14-21 totals. Jonathan Drouin picked up an assist against the Sabres, giving him 26 assists on the season to rank second on the Canadiens behind captain Nick Suzuki, who has 38. Drouin missed 24 games this season because of injuries, while Suzuki is the only Canadien to play in all 74 games so far. Suzuki was the only Canadien to play in all 82 games last season.

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No postseason: While the Canadiens will miss the playoffs for the second straight season, this will be the third straight year that there is no postseason hockey in Philadelphia. When the Flyers hired John Tortorella as their new head coach last summer he said the biggest things that had to change were the culture and standard of what is acceptable on and off the ice. This will be the seventh time in 11 seasons that the Flyers miss the playoffs. The Flyers haven’t won the Stanley Cup since the old Broad Street Bullies won back-to-back championships in 1974 and 1975. Travis Konecny leads the Flyers in scoring with 27-27-54 totals, followed by Kevin Hayes (17-34-51) and Scott Laughton (18-23-41). Former Canadien Nicolas Deslauriers leads the NHL in penalty minutes (111) and is tied for the lead in fights (11).

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