Montreal Canadiens' Nick Suzuki (14) scores on Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson (33) as Flyers' Ronnie Attard (23) tries to defend during first period NHL hockey action in Montreal on Thursday, March 28, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
MONTREAL – Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 on Thursday night.
Suzuki, the Canadiens captain, reached the 30-goal milestone for the first time in his fifth season.
Jesse Ylonen also scored while Joel Armia and Jake Evans added empty-net goals for Montreal (28-32-12), which won its third straight in its first game back at the Bell Centre after a five-game road trip.
Juraj Slafkovsky extended his point streak to a career-high nine games with an assist on Suzuki’s goal, Mike Matheson had three helpers and Cayden Primeau made 29 saves.
Primeau earned a shutout in his previous two home games and held Philadelphia off the scoresheet until the final 61 seconds of Thursday’s game.
Owen Tippett broke the shutout bid, but Philadelphia (36-28-10) lost its third consecutive game amid the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Flyers also suffered their fifth straight road loss.
Samuel Ersson made 13 saves. The 24-year-old Ersson allowed six goals on 27 shots in a 6-5 overtime loss to the New York Rangers last time out.
The Flyers thought they’d cut the lead in half twice early in the third period only to have both goals overturned.
After Joel Farabee’s shot trickled through Primeau but stopped short of the net, Garnet Hathaway knocked it in during the ensuing scramble in the blue paint. The goal, however, was called off due to a distinct kicking motion.
Morgan Frost appeared to get Philadelphia on the board minutes later but it was ruled no-goal after Montreal challenged for offside.
Keeping with the theme, Suzuki almost scored his second of the night by batting the puck out of the air and into the net. This time it was ruled a high stick.
Tippett finally broke through with his late goal after Armia made it 3-0, but it was too little too late for the Flyers.
Suzuki opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 12:58 of the first period by knocking home a feed from Slafkovsky at the side of the net.
Ylonen doubled the lead at 16:46, scoring off a rebound from Jayden Struble’s shot to put the Canadiens up 2-0 after their fifth shot of the game.
The shots were 6-5 in Montreal’s favour after 20 minutes.
Philadelphia turned things around in the second and outshot Montreal 9-6 in a physical second period with several scrums after the whistle, but couldn’t get one past Primeau.
Struble almost put the Canadiens up by three late in the frame, but hit the crossbar on a deke to the backhand.
TORTS’ PRAISE
Flyers head coach John Tortorella has a lot of time for Canadiens bench boss Martin St. Louis. Tortorella coached a Tampa Bay Lightning team that starred St. Louis to a Stanley Cup victory in 2004. The Flyers coach doesn’t doubt that St. Louis’s talent on the ice will translate to the bench.
“He’s going to be such a good coach, because he wears it,” Tortorella told reporters Thursday morning. “He has one of the most interesting minds when it comes to hockey. He can’t give all his thoughts to his team, because he has a lot of stuff going on in there.”
Tortorella also said he kept in touch with St. Louis while he tended to his 16-year-old son Mason. St. Louis was away from the Canadiens from March 16 to 25 to be with his family after Mason was hospitalized due to complications from a hockey injury. Mason is now at home recovering.
PHILLY BOUND?
Goaltender Ivan Fedotov’s contract was terminated by Russian KHL club CSKA Moscow earlier Thursday, paving his way to potentially join the Flyers.
The 27-year-old Russian is under contract with the Flyers this season. He attempted to come to North America in July 2022, but instead was taken by authorities to a remote military base in the Arctic Circle for a year of service.
UP NEXT
Flyers: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
Canadiens: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.
