Faceoff Factor

Canadiens vs Flyers Game 2 Preview

Andrew Chiappazzi | National Hockey League

Apr 25, 11:58 PM | Hype this story!

______________________________________________________

Canadiens (1) vs. Flyers (6) Game 2
______________________________________________________

Series Score: Canadiens 1 – Flyers 0
Game Time: 7:00 EST
Location: Bell Centre (Montreal)
Television: Versus, CBC, RDS

______________________________________________________

Hockey intelligence. There are no stats to measure it, so you can’t look at a website and quantify how smart a player is. It’s more of a feel: Does Player A put himself and his team in bad situations, either by taking penalties or playing out of position or wilting under pressure? Does Team Z have a penchant for cracking in late moments with bad penalties or bad decision making? Does Coach X win with talent but lose in the playoffs no matter how deep his roster is because the team can’t seem to play together?

Hockey intelligence. Something that the Philadelphia Flyers are lacking right now. Some would even crack that the Flyers have never had hockey intelligence in their organization. Certainly, Mike Richards is looking for the brain cells he lost that forced him to commit a dangerous kneeing penalty on Alexei Kovalev in Game One of this series with just over a minute left in regulation and the Flyers up a goal.

Richards better hope that his Flyers can rebound after coughing up a win Thursday night, because if he – or anyone – makes a similar gaffe while down 2-0 in Philly, they may not make it out alive.

Montreal, meanwhile, might want to think about a raise for Tom Kostopolous. The Habs picked up the grinder, slotted him onto the checking line, and suddenly he’s scored three goals in the playoffs. He scored the game winner in overtime Thursday night, but unfortunately for Philly, there’s no way to really lock out a third liner. Montreal’s power play might have gotten that kick in the rear that they needed with Kovalev’s game tying goal, so it’s not like the Flyers can afford to avoid the top lines either.

Should at least make for an interesting chess match in Game 2.
______________________________________________________

Injuries
______________________________________________________

Montreal: No players expected to miss time. All injured players returned for Games 6 and 7 versus Boston.
Philadelphia: Knuble (doubtful, torn hamstring)