In a dismal offensive and defensive display Monday night, the Philadelphia Flyers were shut out, 5-0, by the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
Veteran Flyers forward Nick Deslauriers set the tone early with a devastating hit against Habs defenseman Adam Engstrom on the forecheck, but that show of force would be essentially the only Flyers highlight of the evening.
The first period ended in a mundane 0-0 draw despite the Flyers having three power play opportunities, including a four-minute double minor that bled into the second period. As the 5-0 final score indicates, the Flyers didn’t score on that one, either.
Defenseman Ronnie Attard, a hopeful trying to make the NHL roster after years of being stuck in the grey, had a brutal outing against the Canadiens. His second period turnover in his own zone allowed Luke Tuch, the younger brother of Alex Tuch, to open the scoring and inject life into the Bell Centre crowd.
With the second period ending at 1-0 in favor of the Habs, the Flyers were still well within reach of winning the game. Cal Petersen took over for Eetu Makiniemi to start the final frame, and the game was over shortly thereafter.
David Savard, Emil Heineman, and Josh Anderson scored within 2:33 of each other, putting the game out of reach at 4-0. Alex Barre-Boulet tacked on a fifth for good measure with less than three minutes to go.
By the end of the game, Attard and his defense partner, Louie Belpedio, were on the ice for three of the five goals. Attard made a foolish pinch on Anderson’s goal and ultimately finished with the lowest ice time of any Flyers rearguard, which is not a good sign for a player who has played under Ian Laperriere, who coached the game, extensively.
Top prospect Oliver Bonk, despite being a distant third, trailed only Egor Zamula and Rasmus Ristolainen in ice time. Bonk certainly needs to add more strength and deceptiveness to his game, but he held his own overall.
Bonk’s partner, Hunter McDonald, had a nondescript performance marred by a flurry of errors with the puck. McDonald was also beaten by Barre-Boulet to the back post for a goal to conclude a sloppy performance.
It’s not a big deal since he hasn’t done so yet, but McDonald could really use a full season in the AHL to refine his game. As of right now, Emil Andrae and Adam Ginning are miles ahead of the other defenders hoping to make the Flyers’ roster this year.
The Flyers have more preseason games to play – their next is on Thursday against the New York Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center – but they likely have a good idea of who their first cuts will be. The Orange and Black are off on Tuesday but will return to the ice for practice on Wednesday morning at the Flyers Training Center.
