Flyers at Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens attempt to extend their season-opening point streak to six games when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. The Canadiens have been solid in their own end, allowing eight goals in five games, and their offense has been balanced in the early going with 13 different players scoring at least once.
“Everybody’s rolling right now,” Montreal goaltender Carey Price told reporters after a 4-2 victory over Boston on Saturday. “It’s fun to watch.” The Canadiens, who top the Atlantic Division, play four of their next five at home as the Flyers play their only road game in a stretch of six contests. Philadelphia snapped a three-game winless streak with a 6-3 victory over Carolina on Saturday as Jakub Voracek notched his first two goals of the season. The Flyers have struggled at times defensively, allowing 17 goals in their last four contests, but have earned at least one point in seven of their last eight meetings with Montreal (4-1-3).
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, Sportsnet, RDS (Montreal)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (2-2-1): Philadelphia expected better results on defense but will get both physical blue-liner Radko Gudas (six-game suspension) and puck-mover Michael Del Zotto (lower body) back in the lineup soon. Captain Claude Giroux has collected six assists but has yet to tally, while Matt Read and Wayne Simmonds enter Monday with four-game goal-scoring streaks. Six players have notched at least five points for the Flyers, including rookie Travis Konecny, and defenseman Brandon Manning has recorded four along with an impressive plus-5 rating.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (4-0-1): Defenseman Shea Weber is off to an impressive start with his new team, recording a goal, four assists and a plus-8 rating in five games, but the power-play unit he quarterbacks has been the only negative in the early going (3-for-21). Weber shares the team lead in scoring with a group of three players that includes captain Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk. Price has stopped 46-of-50 shots in a pair of victories since returning from a bout with the flu after enduring an injury-plagued 2015-16 season.
OVERTIME
1. Voracek, who has recorded 19 points in as many career games against the Canadiens, is three assists shy of 300 for his career.
2. Montreal C Andrew Shaw has been kept off the scoresheet while registering three shots in his last four games after notching a goal and four shots in the season opener.
3. Philadelphia RW Dale Weise, a former Canadien, is serving the second contest of his three-game suspension for an illegal hit.