Flyers Fall 3-2 to Canadiens, Officially Eliminated from Playoff Contention
Apr 5, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers forward Ryan Poehling (25) scores a goal against Montreal Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault (35) and teammate forward Juraj Slafkovsky (20) during the first period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
After winning 3 games in a row, the Flyers lost 3-2 in the Bell Center against the Montreal Canadiens. It’s the first loss for the Flyers under interim head coach Brad Shaw.
With this loss, the Flyers are officially eliminated from the playoff race for the fifth straight season, tied for the longest drought in franchise history. The last time the Flyers made the playoffs was during the 2019-20 season, where they had to play in the “bubble playoffs” due to the pandemic. They beat the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, only to lose to the Islanders in the second round in seven games.
The Flyers started strong in the first period against Montreal Saturday night. Ryan Poehling scored the first goal of the game against his former team. The goal was assisted by Jakob Pelletier and Cam York. A beautiful pass from Pelletier, who found Poehling, who had an empty net to put it in, and gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead.
Magnifique.#PHIvsMTL | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/4YoOOaueX6
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 5, 2025
After that goal was scored with 15:50 left in the first period, the game slowly started to shift to Montreal’s advantage, as they started getting momentum mainly because of the Flyers’ power play. Matvei Michkov was clipped on the face, giving the Flyers a 4-minute power play. They couldn’t capitalize on it, but also, it looked like Montreal had the puck more during those 4 minutes. In the first period, Philly led the shots 7-4.
In the second period, the Canadiens dominated, but they couldn’t find a way to solve Samuel Ersson. He made huge saves in the middle stanza and protected the Flyers’ lead. His best one was against Christian Dvorak. He robbed him with the glove on a one-timer. Flyers still had a 1-0 lead after two periods of play.
Left-handed larceny.#PHIvsMTL | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/XodWn0B42f
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 6, 2025
The energy and chances for the Canadiens were still there for the final 20 minutes. Although this time they finally cracked Ersson’s code. Brendan Gallagher tied the game with 18:36 left in the period. A top corner shot, on the glove side, assisted by Jake Evans and Dvorak.
Son 20e de la saison!!
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 6, 2025
Gally’s 20th goal of the season!!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/EvND0RoR4w
Just over a minute after their first goal, the Canadiens scored again to take the lead for the first time. Lane Huston beat Ersson after going coast-to-coast with a perfect shot from the side of the net. The goal was also assisted by the captain Nick Suzuki. Suzuki then scored a goal while shorthanded, assisted by Kaiden Guhle. Not only could the Flyers’ power play not generate, but they even allowed a goal.
Ô CAPITAINE! MON CAPITAINE!
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 6, 2025
OUR CAPTAIN, OUR GUY, OUR LEADER#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/sB6nG0t54l
Tyson Foerster then scored late for the Flyers with less than 1 minute left on the powerplay this time. The goal was assisted by Travis Konecny and Poehling. Although it was too little, too late, the Flyers couldn’t equalize the game, and they moved 31-37-9 overall.
The Flyers only have 5 games left before the end of the season. Their next game will be against the Rangers on Wednesday at 7:30 PM at Madison Square Garden.
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Ralph Zakhour
Ralph is a social sciences student who has been a Philadelphia Flyers fan since 2010. He is from Montreal and played hockey, as a goalie, for several years. He writes articles as a hobby.
