Previewing Tonight’s Flyers vs. Canadiens Game

Despite the Canadiens’ victory on Saturday, there was a clear elephant in the room: goaltender Samuel Montembeault is still fighting the puck. After a great start to the game for the Habs, Montembeault allowed two awkward goals (2nd one isn’t his fault entirely, but his positioning definitely should have been better to prevent the puck from going in off his defenseman’s skate) in the 2nd period that deflated the Habs’ confidence. Then, in the 3rd period, Montembeault allowed a goal that showed he couldn’t make a big save when his team needed it most. 

Luckily, the Lane Hutson-Ivan Demidov show took over late in the game to tie it and save the Habs from losing in regulation after blowing a 2-0 lead that they had thanks to bad bounces and Montembeault not being able to make a big save when needed. The Habs’ netminder is supporting the 2nd-worst save percentage in the entire NHL at .839, which has made him a clear issue on the team despite their very strong start to the season. 

Even with yet another tough performance on Saturday night, Montembeault has been given the start tonight against the Flyers. The only possible explanation is that they don’t want to destroy his confidence too much, but at this point, the Habs are playing a very risky game when they can easily just put Jakub Dobes, who is well rested and has a .930 save percentage (2nd-best in the NHL).

Nonetheless, Montembeault will be given a 2nd straight game to try to bounce back after his terrible start to the season. In all honesty, with how he played on Saturday, it seems too soon for him to get his opportunity to redeem himself; however, since the Flyers have been on a bit of a skid lately, it may be best for Montembeault to start against a weaker team to find his confidence again. Of the three opponents the Habs are playing this week, the Flyers are surely the easiest opponent. 

With that being said, the Canadiens’ offense may be able to bail out Montembeault yet again if he has another tough start. They have scored 4+ goals in their last 4 games. The Habs’ top offensive players are all scorching hot. This will help a lot with the team’s confidence heading into tonight’s game as a whole. 

The newly formed Zack Bolduc-Kirby Dach-Brendan Gallagher line should also bring some nice much much-needed secondary offense based on how the two wingers on that trio performed together during the first 4-5 games. 

The Habs’ power play has been the best in the entire NHL during their 3-game winning streak, going 5-for-8 during that time. This all started when Ivan Demidov was added to the team’s top unit, and it has continued to produce each game so far. 

With all these stats about goals and Montembeault’s struggles, betting the Over 5.5 goals in tonight’s game would be a smart wager. The Habs won the season series last year, winning 2 of the 3 meetings with the Flyers. They are -165 home favourites in tonight’s game. Juraj Slafkovsky has scored in 3 straight games. Can he keep his goal streak alive? Slafkovsky is listed at +185 to score a goal tonight. Combine all three of these lines to boost your odds up to +450. Will you take a chance on this parlay tonight? 

Tonight’s game will be a challenge for the Canadiens as they look to give Montembeault more confidence while facing a team hungry to end their losing streak. Nonetheless, the Habs should still have the advantage heading into tonight. 

What are your predictions for tonight’s game?