One day after scoring six goals in a win at Washington, the Flyers could not manage any in a 5-0 preseason game loss at Montreal’s Bell Centre on Monday night.
The Flyers had a number of good scoring chances early in the game but couldn’t convert against Canadiens starting goaltender Cayden Primeau.
After a scoreless first period, Montreal took the lead courtesy of a Ronnie Attard turnover in the second period.
Skating out of his own end, the Flyer defenseman had his pocket picked by Josh Davidson. One quick, short pass later, Luke Tuch fired a shot past Flyers starting goaltender Eetu Makininiemi at 8:18 for a 1-0 lead.
In the third period, the Flyers didn’t look ready coming out of the locker room. The Habs struck three times in two minutes, 33 seconds against goalie Cal Petersen. David Savard scored at 3:06, then Emil Heineman found his target 50 seconds later.
Anderson made it 4-0 at 5:39. Alex Barre-Boulet completed the scoring with 2:15 to play.
This was another game where the Flyers coaching staff was keeping a close eye on things to see which players will merit a lot of playing time when regular-season action commences.
At the morning skate in Voorhees, N.J., Flyers forward Tyson Foerster talked about the anticipated competition for a spot on the top six, especially with Russian rookie Matvei Michkov added to the mix and pretty much a given for one of those positions.
“I think even if Matvei wasn’t here, every camp there’s spots to be taken,” Foerster said. “Spots to be had.
“I mean definitely, he (Michkov) is going to be there for one of those spots. So it pushes everyone. But there are spots every year that are up for grabs.”
Foerster is coming off a productive first full season, one in which started slowly but finished with 20 goals.
“The scrimmages have been good, I feel strong, fast,” he said. “I feel more confident for sure. My speed, consistency. . .that’s what I was thinking about over the summer. Just trying to be more consistent. There were games when I was hot, a couple games where I was cold. So just staying consistent throughout the whole year.”
Foerster did manage to hit a goal post in Monday night’s game and looks like he’s up to speed when action commences for real next month.
With 20 goals in the books, can he reach 30 this season?
“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “That’s what I was thinking about all summer. It’s all about that consistency, that’s what I’m going to try to do.”
In the first period of Monday night’s game, the Flyers managed to escape a two-minute, five-on-three jam due to penalties to Philadelphia’s Attard and Anthony Richard.
Thanks to some strong goaltending from Makininiemi, the Flyers were able to turn aside the Canadien offense during the shorthanded stretch.
Later in the period, the Flyers picked up a four-minute power play of their own. However, Primeau, son of former Flyer great Keith Primeau, was up to the task, keeping the Flyers off the board.
>Short shots
Several prominent Flyer players made their preseason debut, including Sean Couturier, Foerster, Attard, Nick Deslauriers, Egor Zamula and Scott Laughton. . .The Flyers return to preseason action on Friday when they play host to the New York Islanders. . .Jakub Dobes finished the game in goal for Montreal and shared the shutout with Primeau.
