Philadelphia Flyers vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/21/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QE

Where to watch: RDS, TSN2, NBC Sports Philadelphia

DraftKings: Check back later

BetMGM: Check back later

Caesars: Check back later

Flyers: 23-43-11

Canadiens: 20-46-11

Two teams on six-game losing streaks with no real hope of going up. Something’s got to give right? But at least we can look at Thursday’s game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens and come to a 100 percent agreement that one team is playing harder than the other.

The only difference is the team playing harder has yet to find the back of the net since the return of their franchise goalie, while the other is just bad.

The Canadiens have played two games with Carey Price back in net after he underwent hip surgery, among a myriad of other issues, and Price has looked great in both outings. Unfortunately, the offense has not produced to the level he would like coming out of the gates. But the Habs are coming off a 2-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild, as Cam Talbot shut the door on the likes of Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki.

Price made 28 saves after making 17 against the New York Islanders his last time out, but man CP31 needs a hug because he’s not getting enough help with this.

"I thought the last two games I was in we played very well," Price said. "We were pressuring pucks up ice and when we're using our speed, that's when we're at our best. I thought sorting out our back checks and being able to kill plays within our zone was better tonight than it was last game."

Yes, I get it. This is not the Habs team that shocked the world and went to the Stanley Cup Final last season. I get it that it’s certainly not the world of Dominique Ducharme and has since been replaced by Martin St. Louis. But this will remain a competitive hockey team for the rest of the year. Do I think Price goes for this game? Likely not, but if the Habs want to get a win for their goalie, they will do it.

But also think of it this way: The Flyers don’t have a goalie. Goalies don’t exist in Philadelphia because the city of Philadelphia is a mythical construct when it comes to the game of hockey. Because I think, personally, the city of Philadelphia would like to forget the Flyers exist on most nights.

Just like they would like to forget that the Flyers exist after losing to the Auston Matthews-less Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Tuesday. James van Riemsdyk did score a goal, as did a lad named Ronnie Attard – which honestly sounds like a created player in NHL 22 – and that’s all the Flyers could remotely get against Jack Campbell.

"I thought we battled hard tonight," Flyers goalie Martin Jones said after making 24 saves. "Some breakdowns cost us. They're a talented team and they finished on some plays. Overall, I thought the effort was pretty good, but some bad breakdowns led to goals, and that was the difference tonight."

You really have to feel for Flyers fans. Claude Giroux is gone, Carter Hart is a pumpkin, Owen Tippett probably isn’t going to pan out. You sold your soul for one trip to the conference semifinals in a bubble and there isn’t a sane head coach alive that would want to take this job. I, for one, am shocked. Not really, it’s kind of funny.

It totally depends who’s in goal for Montreal. Price? Win. Sam Montembeault? Win, but more unlikely than what it would be if it were Price. I think the fact that the Habs are at home, and if Price is going to have a strong chance to end the season, I think it would need to be his net and for them to actually get a win. Canadiens win 4-1

Flyers are 14-27 this season following an over in the previous game.

Flyers are 24-35 the past three seasons off a road loss.

Canadiens are 8-19 this season off a home loss.

Flyers:

James van Riemsdyk -- Kevin Hayes -- Owen Tippett

Oskar Lindblom -- Scott Laughton -- Travis Konecny

Joel Farabee -- Morgan Frost -- Bobby Brink

Noah Cates -- Nate Thompson -- Zack MacEwen

Ivan Provorov -- Egor Zamula

Travis Sanheim -- Kevin Connauton

Keith Yandle -- Ronnie Attard

Martin Jones

Canadiens:

Cole Caufield -- Nick Suzuki -- Josh Anderson

Mike Hoffman -- Christian Dvorak -- Brendan Gallagher

Rem Pitlick -- Ryan Poehling -- Joel Armia

Michael Pezzetta -- Jake Evans -- Paul Byron

Alexander Romanov -- David Savard

Joel Edmundson -- Jeff Petry

Corey Schueneman -- Chris Wideman

Carey Price

Points: Cam Atkinson -- 50

Goals: Cam Atkinson -- 23

Assists: Travis Konecny -- 33

Goalie: Carter Hart -- 13-24-7, 3.16 GAA, .905 SV%

Points: Nick Suzuki -- 57

Goals: Nick Suzuki -- 20

Assists: Nick Suzuki -- 37

Goalie: Jake Allen -- 9-20-4, 3.30 GAA, .905 SV%