Flyers hope to get back on track against Canadiens
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The Philadelphia Flyers try to get back on track tonight when they welcome the Montreal Canadiens to the First Union Center.
Philly had a six-game winning streak halted in Monday's 7-4 home loss to the Atlanta Thrashers. Donald Brashear, Keith Primeau, Mark Recchi and Pavel Brendl scored as the Flyers were able to take advantage of the Thrashers' weak defensive corps. However, they couldn't stop the Atlanta attack, which was paced by a Dany Heatley hat trick. Goaltender Robert Esche was pulled in the first period after allowing three goals on five shots, and Roman Cechmanek made 13 saves the rest of the way.
Philadelphia went 0-for-3 on the power play Monday and is last in the National Hockey League in that department. The Flyers are 21-for-183 with the man advantage this season (11.5 percent).
The Flyers' loss allowed the New Jersey Devils to move into first place in the Atlantic Division with 56 points -- one more than Philadelphia.
Ken Hitchcock's troops, 16-1-5 when scoring the game's first goal, will play the third installment of a four-game homestand tonight. The Flyers, 10-5-5-1 on friendly ice, will host Tampa Bay on Saturday.
Montreal, meanwhile, has lost two of its last three games and is 2-6-1-2 in the last 10 overall. On Wednesday, the Canadiens also fell victim to the Thrashers, dropping a 1-0 decision at Philips Arena. Jose Theodore had a 32- save performance wasted as the Habs couldn't solve counterpart Pasi Nurminen, who finished with 22 stops. Atlanta's Marc Savard scored the game's only goal when he beat Theodore off a rebound during a third-period power play.
The Canadiens are winless in their last eight road games (0-5-1-2), and haven't won away from home since a 3-1 victory over the Rangers on December 19 at Madison Square Garden. Montreal will return home to host Toronto on Saturday.
Philadelphia is 3-0 against Montreal this season, and has outscored the Habs by a combined 14-5 margin. However, the road club has won six of the last seven meetings, and the Canadiens are 5-1-2 in their last eight trips to the First Union Center.
AI
