Canadiens @ Flyers Top Six Minutes: Habs locked into third seed after loss in Philadelphia

First period

• AHL opponent or not, the top line comes out in playoff mode with a high-danger chance in the opening 10 seconds, and Cole Caufield draws a high-sticking call to head to the power play.
• It’s a short first wave with the top line having the shift to start, but the second unit looks dangerous as well. There’s been little to complain about on the power play the past few games.
• Matvei Michkov gets a breakaway, but Jakub Dobeš makes the leg save on his deke.
• Nick Suzuki goes in on a two-on-one with Caufield, and even though Caufield is tripped high in the zone, Suzuki tries to force the puck to him lying on the ice with several defenders in the way.
• Moments later, Porter Martone tips a shot from Michkov who walked the top of the zone after a pass from debutant Alex Bump, and the puck goes through Dobeš’s pads and into the net.
• No more exhibition play now. The Canadiens are now in a game.
• Hunter McDonald lands a big hit on Jake Evans that turns the puck over, and Oliver Bonk scores his first NHL goal.
• The Canadiens are going to have to work a lot harder than they wanted to to get out of this game with a win.
• The crowd gives the Flyers a cheer as the period ends, and the team half consisting of AHL players deserves it for outplaying Montreal in the opening 20 minutes. As things stand, Philadelphia is on the way to a season-series sweep of Montreal.

Second period

• Hutson helps Zachary Bolduc and Brendan Gallagher get good chances, but neither forward can get Hutson his record-setting assist.
• Alexandre Texier gets the puck into the offensive zone and hands it off to Guhle. Guhle fires a pass toward the stick of Gallagher, and on this occasion he gives his defenceman an assist with a strong redirect through Ersson’s legs.

Kaiden Guhle feeds Brendan Gallagher for a tap-in 2-1 game in Philly!

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— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) April 14, 2026 at 9:13 PM

• The goal has inspired the best play from the Canadiens so far in this game outside of the opening shift.
• Caufield flies down the wing and puts a shot in the 13-hole. It’s such a precise shot that it goes over Ersson’s shoulder, but inside his jersey. There’s a delay as the entire Flyers contingent performs a search for the puck.
• The puck had been in the possession of Montreal for about 10 minutes, but the Flyers managed to get it into the offensive zone, and they caught four Canadiens players on the same side of the ice. Dobeš spills a rebound to the other one, and Michkov pounces for an uncontested empty-netter.
• Dobeš will enter the playoffs having allowed at least eight goals in the last two games. Not the ideal way for him to maintain confidence.
• Caufield sends an eighth shot at Ersson, but can’t solve the goaltender who entered the game with am .876 save percentage.
• Tyson Foerster tries to get his team some more offence by hauling down Hutson in the neutral zone to keep he puck going up ice. The referee makes the call.
• Caufield misses on a couple of attempts. Demidov unleashes a one-timer heading for the top corner, but it deflects out of play off the back of defenceman Nick Seeler.
• No goal on the power play.
• Xhekaj fires a shot than Ersson can only handle 90% of, and Jake Evans dives at the loose puck to make it a one-goal game in the dying seconds.

A diving effort by Jake Evans gets the Habs back within a goal!

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— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) April 14, 2026 at 9:43 PM

• It was a better period from Montreal, getting ix high-danger chances, so it’s fair that they outscored the Flyers 2-1 in the frame. They need someone to find a tying goal in the third, and you can bet that Caufield will come close to doubling the total of eight shots he already has through 40 minutes.

Third period

• Brendan Gallagher attempts to join a rush and has McDonald step in front of him. That will put Montreal on the power play.
• Not much of a dangerous shift for the top unit there.
• Another missed opportunity on the power play.
• The execution isn’t there in this period.
• Oliver Kapanen has half of the offensive zone to skate into, and fires a shot that Ersson gloves.
• A scrum after the shot sends the game to four-on-four.
• The Flyers just seem to be content to keep the puck away from Caufield.
• Juraj Slafkovský attempts to carry the puck across the front of his own net, and the Flyers immediately capitalize on the giveaway to make it two-goal lead.
• Dobeš is on the bench to turn another four-on-four into a five-on-four.
• There are no more goals for Montreal, who fall 4-2 in the season finale.
• That’s a third loss to the Flyers this season, the only Eastern Conference team the Canadiens failed to get a win against.
• There will be no home-ice advantage for Montreal, starting the post-season as the third seed in the Atlantic in Tampa Bay. Caufield will finish the season on 51 goals despite having 10 shots on net and see Nathan MacKinnon take the Rocket Richard, while Hutson will have to share the franchise defenceman assist record with Larry Robinson for at least another year.
• Now for some needed days off before the second season starts in Tampa.

EOTP 3 Stars

3) A valuable add

2) This was their playoff game

1) On to the post-season