After going on a little road trip (0-2-0) following an 8-game home-stand, the Flyers (18-30-10) return home to face the Martin St. Louis coached Montreal Canadiens (15-35-8).

Carter Hart will get the nod after Martin Jones put up a solid performance against the Hurricanes yesterday on ABC. Cam York and Cole Caufield, both 2019 1st round picks, will face each other for the first time in their young NHL careers.

You can catch the Flyers playing the Canadiens tonight on NBCSP at 7 pm.

Carter Hart

After Martin Jones got the nod against Carolina in yesterday’s afternoon matchup against the Hurricanes, Hart will get the start tonight at home against the Canadiens. Jones was solid, saving 33 of the 35 shots he faced (the 36th shot was the empty netter). 

Hart is currently 11-19-6 on the season with a 2.94 GAA and a .912 SV%. His last start came against the Panthers, where Florida went 3/3 on the power play and shelled Hart the entire game. 

Hart saved 47 of 48 shots at home against Vegas and frustrated Jack Eichel, who had 9 shots on goal, and company to a 2-1 Flyers victory.

Claude Giroux’s last games with the Flyers?

“G” will play in his 999th game as a Philadelphia Flyer tonight and will play in his 1000th game on Thursday against the Nashville Predators. Chuck spoke yesterday when we were playing the Hurricanes in the middle play (no idea why they couldn’t make that an intermission segment) and reiterated that it’s totally Giroux’s decision on whether or not he wants to go chase a cup. 

The “rumor” that teams think Giroux’s heart “won’t be in it” because of his love for Philadelphia is complete bullshit in my opinion and a sad attempt of trying to lower his trade value more than it already is (NTC). 

Giroux has repeatedly said that at this point in his career individual statistics don’t mean anything to him and the only thing he wants is a cup. Do I think he’d prefer to chase that cup with the Flyers crest on the front of his jersey? Absolutely, but don’t give me that shit about his “heart not being in it” with another team.

Cole Caufield vs Cam York

Tonight will be the first matchup between the two 2019 1st round picks. Cam York (14th overall) and Cole Caufield (15th overall) will be tied to each other for the rest of their careers, due to Chuck Fletcher passing on the 5’7 sniper for the smooth-skating defenseman in York. 

The two won gold at the 2021 WJC Championships, so I’m sure there isn’t any hard feeling between them. It’s more Flyers fans crying about not getting Caufield as if we drafted Sbisa 2.0. 

Since the Canadiens fired their head coach and replaced him with Martin St. Louis, Caufield has been on fire. He has 7G-8A-15P in his last 13 games. Lock him in for a point tonight against the Flyers, it’s easy money at this point. 

York has been up and down from the NHL and AHL this season because the Flyers have zero idea how to develop their young prospects. His most recent call-up came on the 9th and he registered an assist in his first game back, then hit the post yesterday against the Hurricanes. 

York was the best defenseman on the ice for the Flyers yesterday. While I know it’s not saying much since this season has been a complete disaster on the backend (Sanheim has been playing better as of late), it’s just funny to watch York do things that not one other defenseman on the team can do and he’s still going up and down from the NHL and AHL. 

Power Plays

Simply, both of these teams’ power-plays suck.

The Flyers are currently ranked 30th in the NHL (13.7%) and the Canadiens are currently ranked 31st in the league (12.7%). In the last five games, the Canadiens have scored 4 power-play goals, whereas the Flyers have only scored 2. 

Maybe the Flyers can get back on track with Cam York now up in the NHL, but they have to start by promoting him to the top unit and telling Keith Yandle to kick rocks.

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Quick Hits

• Wade Allison left the game on Friday night (his first game back from an MCL sprain) with a cut on his wrist. Thankfully, Allison returned and potted 1G-2A for 3 points. He wasn’t in the lineup yesterday against the Wolf Pack but should be good to go tonight against the Hershey Bears. 
• Montreal and Seattle went into OT last night with both teams getting points. Just another reason to keep an eye on the Tank Watch. 
• Elliot Desnoyers had 2 points (both assists) last night and is currently 16th in the QMJHL in points with 26G-31A-57P in 40 games. 
• Rasmus Ristolainen is now my favorite Flyer since people want to point to weather maps and cry about him getting a 5-year $5.1AAV contract extension on Thursday.

Mandatory Credit: Zack Hill Flyers PR / Flyers Twitter