Game Thread| Philadelphia vs. Canadiens | 10/25/05

SpiderManNL · Guru

Game Thread| Philadelphia vs. Canadiens | 10/25/05

SpiderManNL · Guru

The line up that I picked for this game is not the offical game line up......I well update it once the offical one is available.

SpiderManNL · Guru

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=140840&hubname=

Two teams are still looking for their superstar players to take their game to the next level as the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.

Watch the game tonight on TSN at 7pm et/4pm pt, followed by the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche in the second half of our doubleheader at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt.

The Canadiens have won two straight and three of their last four games, including Saturday's 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders. But some fans and critics in Montreal have already begun to worry about the play of goaltender Jose Theodore, who has allowed some soft goals despite his 5-2 record.

The 2002 Hart and Vezina Trophy winner has a 3.01 goals-against average and .874 save percentage so far this season.

The Canadiens, however, keep finding ways to win and are getting scoring help from beyond their first line.

Steve Begin scored with 1:45 left in the third period Satruday to lift Montreal to its second straight win at home.

"He just works so hard every night and it feels really good to see that kind of effort get rewarded on a night like tonight," Canadiens coach Claude Julien said of Begin, who has three goals this season.

Saku Koivu had a power-play goal and assisted on Alex Kovalev's second of the season - also with the man advantage - as Montreal built a 2-0 lead 13:31 in.

The Canadiens nearly squandered the lead as the Islanders tied it at 3-3 on Alexei Yashin's goal at 17:07 of the third period.

"That's the way hockey goes now with all those changes and rules," Begin said. "When you've got the lead you've got to keep on pushing. It's never over. You never know what can happen and tonight was a perfect example. We kept just kept pushing and we came out with two points, two huge points for us."

The Flyers are starting to get their offense in gear, and all they need now is for Peter Forsberg to score a goal.

Forsberg, a perennial All-Star and the NHL's MVP in 2003, has no goals in six games, but leads the team with 12 assists.

"I want to get a goal here soon. It's kind of frustrating not getting one, but as long as my teammates are scoring and we're winning games it's OK," he said. "But down the road I have to start scoring too. I'm not going to try to force it, I'm just going to keep working hard."

Forsberg left the Colorado Avalanche during the offseason to sign a two-year, $11.5 million contract with the Flyers. His line, which includes Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble, has 29 points.

On Saturday, Forsberg had two assists in the Flyers' 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"As a line we played pretty well tonight. I'm playing with two great players," Forsberg said.

Philadelphia has scored 16 goals during its three-game winning streak after scoring 10 in its first three contests.

SpiderManNL · Guru

http://www.canadiens.com/eng/news/redirect.cfm?sectionID=habsNewsDetails.cfm&newsItemID=4453

Game Preview: Canadiens vs. Flyers

MONTREAL - After Saturday night’s game, one thing is for certain when talking about the 2005-06 edition of the Canadiens: they certainly have a flair for the dramatic. For the third time in the club’s six wins, Claude Julien’s charges have waited until the final five minutes of the game to score the game-winner. And that doesn't even include Michael Ryder’s overtime winner against the Rangers on Oct. 6.

Saturday night, it was Steve Begin’s turn to play the hero against the Islanders. Promoted to the third line with Radek Bonk and Jan Bulis, the gritty center notched his third goal of the season to top the Islanders 4-3 and hand his team its second straight victory at home.

Tonight, the Canadiens welcome the Flyers for the first of four meetings between these two teams. Though longtime Canadiens nemesis John LeClair is no longer in Philadelphia, tonight’s task isn’t any easier with Bobby Clarke having signed free-agent Peter Forsberg this summer.

Winners of three straight, including a 5-2 victory over the Maple Leafs Saturday night, the Flyers will look to their past success in Montreal to extend their streak. In their last six visits to the Bell Centre, dating back to the 2001-02 campaign, Philadelphia has gone home with the two points each time; the last time the Canadiens beat the Flyers on home ice was back on April 5, 2001.

Despite the visitors’ recent success, the Canadiens hold the edge overall since the Flyers joined the NHL in 1967, posting a 62-54-30-1 record.

Unusual habits: Over the course of their respective careers, Alex Kovalev and Peter Forsberg have been known to light the lamp quite frequently. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, Kovalev has tallied twice and has assisted on eight others. Before this season, nearly 43 per cent of the Russian winger’s offensive production came in the form of goals.

“To tell you the truth, that always happens to me. Some of my best moves rarely work in my favor. I think my best move came in the Olympics and I scored. If I keep working on it, the puck will find the back of the net.”

The Flyers are in similar situation with their newest star. Still in search of his first goal of the season, Forsberg has collected 12 assists so far. Known for his excellent play-making skills, has put together a similar output against the Canadiens, with just one goal and 21 assists in 15 games.

The other rookies: With Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin arriving in the NHL, the excitement over the race to the Calder Trophy was in high gear, even before the season started. Now a few weeks in, several other names are in the mix for the league’s top rookie, including the Canadiens’ own Chris Higgins and Alexander Perezhogin and the Flyers’ Mike Richards. Perezhogin is fifth among rookie scorers with seven points while Higgins and Richards are tied for sixth in shots on goal.

Not so special teams: Ken Hitchcock’s troops have struggled on special teams this season. The Flyers are 24th in the league with a 12.7 per cent success rate on the power-play, while their penalty-killing unit is ranked 28th overall with a 76.3 per cent success rate. Despite their troubles, Mike Richards pulled off a rarity against the Leafs on Saturday, beating Ed Belfour with the Flyers at a two-man disadvantage, for the first time in nearly 14 years. The last time Philadelphia realized the feat was Dec. 5, 1991, when Terry Carkner scored against Washington.

Medical report: For a second consecutive day, Richard Zednik practiced with his teammates and said afterwards he felt no pain and hoped to make his return to the lineup Thursday in Ottawa.

With seven points in as many games, Alexander Perezhogin ranks fifth among all new recruits.

SpiderManNL · Guru

1st Intermission

1 0

Shots on goal: 6 6

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2nd Intermission

2

1

Shots on goal:

19

17

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Final Score: 3 2 OT