The Philadelphia Flyers had hoped the firing of their head coach represented rock bottom for the reeling club, but things only got worse in Peter Laviolette’s debut.
They’ll try again to turn things around Monday night at Montreal, where the Canadiens attempt to carry some momentum from their 100th anniversary celebration after ending their own skid in their most recent game.
The Flyers (13-12-1) had dropped six of seven and been shut out in consecutive games before dismissing coach John Stevens on Friday, but Laviolette certainly didn’t provide an immediate fix, as Philadelphia lost his debut 8-2 at home to Washington on Saturday.
The game got especially ugly for the Flyers after enforcer Dan Carcillo racked up 19 penalty minutes and a four-game suspension for a first-period fight. Carcillo will begin the suspension Monday.
“My thought is the whole thing never should’ve happened,” Laviolette said. “We got hit; we should’ve skated away and kept playing. There ended up being a confrontation. … If we’re going to go to the (penalty) box in an undisciplined manner we’re not going to win hockey games.”
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| Flyers lines | Canadiens lines |
| L1: Hartnell-Richards-Giroux | L1: Cammalleri-Plekanec-A.Kostitsyn |
| L2: V.Riemsdyk-Carter-Briere | L2: S.Kostitsyn-Gomez-D’Agostini |
| L3: Nodl-Kalinski-Cote | L3: Pacioretty-Metropolit-Moen |
| L4: Laperriere-Pyorala-Asham | L4: Bergeron-Lapierre-Laraque |
| D1: Carle-Pronger | D1: Spacek-Hamrlik |
| D2: Tollefsen-Coburn | D2: O’Byrne-Mara |
| D3: Parent-Bartulis | D3: Gorges-Gill |
| G: Boucher | G: Price |
The Capitals took the lead for good during the lengthy power play, eventually becoming the first Philadelphia opponent to score eight goals since Pittsburgh on Dec. 13, 2006.
While a lack of offense had been the club’s main problem in recent games, Saturday’s woeful defensive performance highlighted the Flyers’ fourth straight defeat. Washington went 4 for 6 on the power play, exposing a Philadelphia penalty kill that has allowed 16 goals in the last 12 games.
“Until we get that figured out, we’re going to be in this predicament again,” defenseman Chris Pronger said.
Philadelphia was hoping to tighten its defense by trading for Pronger and signing goalie Ray Emery in the offseason, but both have been struggling lately.
Pronger has no points and is a minus-five in the last seven games, while Emery is 0-4-0 with a 5.34 goals-against average in his last five starts, with backup Brian Boucher earning considerable playing time.
Those are just a few of the Flyers’ problems, but Laviolette said he hoped his first practice with the team Sunday began the turnaround.
“(Sunday), for me, is the first step to try and get there,” Laviolette told the Flyers’ official Web site. “You put in a foundation, and you’re not going to climb the mountain in one day, but now there’s a base in there and from that base you can have at it.”
The Canadiens (13-14-2) had also dropped four straight games, but after a pregame ceremony to honor the 100th anniversary of their founding, they used a four-goal second period – including Michael Cammalleri’s entire hat trick – to beat Boston 5-1 on Friday night.
The presence of several of Montreal’s former greats may have helped the Canadiens, with Guy Lafleur, Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden and Jean Beliveau among those in the building.
“We were all pretty inspired being able to see all the previous players who have won championships here,” said goalie Carey Price, who made 37 saves. “We all had them behind us.”
Montreal will have to find a different motivation Monday, but it will try to carry over some confidence and earn back-to-back victories for just the second time since the end of October.
A positive history against the Flyers may also help. This will be the teams’ first meeting of the season, but the Canadiens are 13-2-1 against Philadelphia since the NHL’s season-long lockout in 2004-05, with Price going 4-0-0 with a 1.75 GAA in his career in the series.
