Flyers send Habs packing with decisive Game 6 victory
The Philadelphia Flyers eliminated the Montreal Canadiens from the postseason with a 3-2 victory in Game 6 on Friday.
Even though Montreal outscored Philadelphia 13-11 in the series, the Flyers managed to grind their way toward knocking off the last-seeded Canadiens.
"It speaks volumes that we didn't play to our capacities and still got four wins," Flyers forward Kevin Hayes said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Sam Carchidi.
"We're not done," Ivan Provorov added. "We're gonna continue to get better, continue to play our game and go as far as we can."
Montreal got off to a rocky start, allowing Provorov to score on the first shot of the game before surrendering a second goal just minutes later. The Habs regrouped and took control for the rest of the period, cutting the lead in half thanks to a power-play marker from Nick Suzuki.
The Canadiens outshot the Flyers 10-6 in the first period despite taking three penalties. Montreal finished the opening frame with four high-danger scoring chances, and the Canadiens didn't allow any on their own goal.
The Flyers extended their lead to two again with an early goal from Michael Raffl in the second period. Canadiens goaltender Carey Price surrendered the third goal on just the seventh shot he faced. Suzuki answered quickly afterward, whipping home his second of the game off a slick pass from Jonathan Drouin. The Canadiens outshot the Flyers 20-12 after two periods, but trailed 3-2.
Despite heavily outplaying Philadelphia for the majority of the game, Montreal couldn't muster the tying goal in the final stanza. Carter Hart finished with 31 saves on 33 shots, while Price allowed three goals on 17 shots.
"It was a really special moment," Hart said of his postgame handshake with childhood idol Price.
"It was a hell of a series and it was really special," he continued. "It's something I'll never forget."
The top-seeded Flyers will now take on the No. 6-seeded New York Islanders in the second round.
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