POSTGAME 5: Flyers Fall 1.9 Seconds Short of Victory

The Philadelphia Flyers saw their winless streak extend to six straight games as they lost via shootout, 5-4 (1-0), to the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Saturday evening. The Flyers led 2-0, trailed 3-2, and then took a 4-3 lead in the third period. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, the Canadiens tied the game with 1.9 seconds left in regulation and went on to win in the skills competition.

Owen Tippett recorded the first two-goal game of his NHL career. Cole Caufield tallied twice for Montreal, including the buzzer-beating game-tying goal late in the third period.
Travis Sanheim (1st goal of the season) and Tippett (5th) gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead in the first 2:55 of the game. Montreal tied up on goals by Christian Dvorak (4th) at 4:07 and Caufield (5-on-3 PPG, 10th) at 17:49.
In the second period, defenseman Mike Matheson (1st) gave Montreal a 3-2 lead at 11:55. That was answered by a Tippett goal (2nd of the game, 6th of the season) directly off a faceoff at the 15:50 mark.
A Kevin Hayes goal (5th) at 8:17 of the third period to give Philly a 4-3 lead. With Montreal attacking on a 6-on-5, Caufield forced overtime (11th goal of the season, second of the game) at 19:58.
Carter Hart stopped 28 of 32 shots in regulation in overtime. He was 2-for-3 in the shootout. Jake Allen denied 25 of 29 Flyers shots through 29 minutes. In the skills competition, Allen was officially 3-for-3 although the second round attempt clanked off both goal posts.
The Flyers went 0-for-4 on the power play including a four-minute advantage late in the second period and early in the third. The Canadiens were 1-for-3, scoring on a two-man advantage.
With the Flyers on a third period power play, Scott Laughton was on the receiving end of a clean hit from Kaiden Guhle. Laughton appeared to hit his head on the ice. He did not return to the game.
FLYERS STARTING LINEUP
86 Joel Farabee- 48 Morgan Frost - 74 Owen Tippett
21 Scott Laughton - 49 Noah Cates - 17 Zack MacEwen
71 Max Willman - 13 Kevin Hayes - 38 Patrick Brown
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 23 Lukas Sedlak - 20 Kieffer Bellows
9 Ivan Provorov - 77 Tony DeAngelo
6 Travis Sanheim - 61 Justin Braun
24 Nick Seeler - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
79 Carter Hart
[32 Felix Sandström]
TURNING POINT
In overtime. Cole Caufield used Tippett as a screen for a shot with just under two minutes left.The Habs took an icing with 10.7 seconds left after a Provorov shot was blocked. Play moved to a shootout. Shots on goal through 65 minutes of play were 32-29 in Montreal's favor. In the skills competition:
Top of 1st round: Caufield was denied by Hart's stick on a five-hole attempt.
Bottom of 1st round: Tippett was stopped on a five-hole try.
Top of 2nd round: Nick Suzuki made several moves and scored on the backhand.
Bottom of 2nd round: Frost hit both posts. The puck stayed out.
Top of 3rd round: Chrtistian Dvorak tried a backhander from a tight angle. He was unable to score.
Bottom of 3rd round: Hayes was unable to elevate the puck and was stopped to end the game.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1. Just 39 seconds into the game, the Flyers capitalized on a Montreal turnover. MacEwen put the puck in deep. Laughton was the first to get to it, and found an oncoming Sanheim skating in deep. Sanheim finished it off for a quick 1-0 lead. The assists went to Laughton and MacEwen.
A
A Montreal attack was thwarted by Frost, who got the puck to Farabee. Sanheim then made a breakout pass to Tippett. Gaining the zone, TIppett used Joel Edmunson as a screen and shot from the top the right circle over Allen's glove at 2:55. The assists went to Sanheim and Farabee.
The Canadiens cut the gap to 2-1 at 4:08 Hart couldn't locate the rebound of an Arber Xhekaj shot that was tipped in front by Gallagher. Gallagher was unable to get to the rebound but Dvorak tapped it in,
At 9:53, Caufield got open in the left slot. Hart made the save. It was the second straight shift that Montreal's top line kept the Flyers hemmed in. A couple of shifts later, Hart had to scramble over to make a save on Sean Monahan.
The Habs went on the game's first power play at 15:52 as Kieffer Bellows was called for accidentally high-sticking Xhekaj on a forechecking attempt in the Montreal zone. Montreal sent out a five-forward first power play unit.
With 1:34 left in the power play.Provorov tried to tuck the puck to Hart. Monahan forced the goalie's skate -- and the puck-- over the goal line. Ruled a goal on the ice, the Flyers challenged the play for goalie interference. The goal was disallowed.
Montreal got a 34-second 5-on-3 when Laughton cross-checked Suzuki in the back. Brown won the draw and Braun cleared the pick. At 17:49, Caufleld fired through a Suzuki screen and scored a 5-on-3 goal. Kiby Dach earned the primary assist, and Mike Hoffman got the secondary.
Dach tripped Provorov with 42.9 seconds left in the first period and two seconds left on the Laughton penalty.The Flyers took 1:17 of carryover power play time into the second period.
2. First period shots on goal were 11-8 in the Habs' favor. Shot attempts were 19-17 in the Flyers' favor. Scoring chances were 11-9 Montreal, with a 5-5 high-danger chance split. Rasmus Ristolainen was credited with four first-period hits.
3. The Flyers were unable to do much with the carryover power play. With play back at 5-on-5, Laughton and Farabee missed connections on a pass. MacEwen subsequently created a play off the forecheck.
On a near tic-tac-toe rush that started deep in the Flyers' zone, Tippett hit the crossbar. Tippett started it behind his own net. He passed to Frost, who went tape-to-tape to Farabee and then Tippett received a fee from Farabee. Everything was there but the finish.
Frost had a golden scoring chance off the rush at one end. He wiped out on the end boards. That was followed by Hart stopping an equally dangerous chance for Jake Evans at the other end.
Hart robbed Caufield but the Flyers were unable to stop a center slot goal by Matheson. A centering pass by Suzuki eluded Caufield but also avoided Hays and went to Matheson. Suzuki and Caufield got the helpers as Montreal took a 3-2 lead at 11:44.
Dadonov took a delay of game penalty for a long-range flip over the glass from the defensive zone at 12:59. Tippett had the Flyers' best chance on the ensuing 5-on-4 but was unable to beat Allen.
Deslauriers dropped the gloves with Xhekaj at 15:49. After a couple punches were exchanged Deslauriers landed a shot that sent the Habs rookie to the ice. On the ensuing faceoff, at 15:50, Tippett took a right circle faceoff and shot the puck off the draw. It found its way between Allen's pads and into the net for an unassisted goal.
Ristolainen was called for hooking at 16:32. Montreal applied good pressure but the Flyers got through the kill. A defensive stop by Provorov stood out on the PK side. At 17:57, with the Flyers moving up ice, Farabee took a high-stick to the face from Matheson. A double-minor was called, as Farabee's mouth was bloodied.
Montreal had a shorthanded odd-man broken up. Tippett had a look off a broken play going the other way. The Flyers took 2:57 of carryover power play time into the third period.
4. Second period shots on goal were 14-9 in Montreal's favor. Shot attempts were 21-19 Flyers. Scoring chances were 15-7 Flyers, with a 7-7 high-danger split.
5. Laughton took a big hit in the Montreal zone from Guele. Hitting his head on the ice, he lay prone on the ice for an extended period of time. Although the Flyers had extended position, the play was not blown dead. Laughton went slowly up the tunnel. As the power play continued Frost had a late chance from the slot.
The work of Tippett and Frost created extended possession and forced a Montreal icing at 7:58. Cates won the ensuing faceoff and the Flyers eventually cashed in. MacEwen dug out a puck behind the net. A Seeler point shot was blocked but went to Hayes, who pounced and scored the goal-ahead goal at 8:17.
Anderson had an opportunity to re-tie the game at 9:53. Hart made the save from the doorstep. A few minutes later, the hustle of MacEwen created a chance for Deslauriers but he was unable to jam the puck under pressure into a vacant net.
Farabee and Frost blocked shot attempts in succession by Montreal. Hart finally covered for a stoppage. With time ticking down below six minutes, the Flyers had an odd-man rush. DeAngelo opted to shoot and put a shot on net.
The Canadiens pulled Allen for an extra attacker. Hart covered a puck that rolled weakly to him with 1:10 left on the clock. The Habs called timeout. Cates took a defensive zone left circle faceoff but lost it. The Flyers blocked several shots but remained hemmed in deep with MacEwen having to discard a broken stick. Finally, with 1.9 seconds on the clock, Caufield ripped a shot from the right circle that found its way into the short side. The assists went to Suzuki and Monahan.
Third period shots on goal were 12-6 in the Flyers' favor. Shot attempts were 27-23 Canadiens. Scoring chances were 12-6 Flyers, with a 7-5 high-danger edge to the Canadiens. Flyers blocked 19 Montreal shot attempts through regulation.