National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Philadelphia 2, Montreal 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 12, 2013
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees: Greg Kimmerly, Tom Kowal
Linesmen: Greg Devorski, Scott Driscoll
Attendance: 19748


Flyers 2, Canadiens 1: Captain Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist as host Philadelphia ended a three-game winless drought (0-2-1).

Rookie Michael Raffl also scored and Steve Mason was less than a minute away from his 21st career shutout for the Flyers, who were playing at home for the first time following a six-game road trip. Jakub Voracek collected a pair of assists and Mason turned aside 20 shots to bounce back from back-to-back starts in which he allowed four goals in each.

Alex Galchenyuk scored with 55.1 seconds to play to avert a second shutout in an many nights for Montreal, which had a five-game winning streak and 10-game points run halted in Wednesday's 6-0 drubbing by Los Angeles. Carey Price made 25 saves to drop his second straight start.

Raffl, who notched his first NHL goal in Monday's loss at Ottawa, converted a perfect feed from the slot on a feed from Voracek, snapping a high shot past the glove of Price just before the 14-minute mark of the opening period. Voracek also set up the second goal midway through the middle session, delivering a circle-to-circle pass to Giroux, who beat Price to the far corner.

Mason preserved the shutout with a big stop on Canadiens captain Brian Gionta on a 2-on-1 early in the third period and saw Gionta's apparent goal waved off with 6:35 to play when it was ruled he knocked the puck in the net with his glove. Montreal finally broke through in the final minute on Galchenyuk's ninth goal of the season.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Former Flyer Daniel Briere received a standing ovation during a video tribute in the first period. Briere, who finished with three shots on goal, returned to Philadelphia for the first time since his contract was bought out in July. ... Voracek has two goals and two assists during a three-game points streak. ... Canadiens D Alexei Emelin received a five-minute penalty for elbowing and a game misconduct for elbowing Flyers RW Steve Downie in the head late in the second period. Downie was back for the start of the third. ... Philadelphia failed on all three power-play chances to fall to 6-for-62 at home with the man advantage.
Top Game Performances
 
Montreal   Philadelphia
Alex Galchenyuk 1 Points Claude Giroux 2
Alex Galchenyuk 1 Goals Claude Giroux 1
Alex Galchenyuk 0 Assists Jakub Voracek 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Carey Price .926 Save Percentage Steve Mason .952
Carey Price 25 Saves Steve Mason 20
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Montreal 21 1 0-1 3-3 25 32
Philadelphia 27 2 0-3 1-1 6 25
Upcoming Games
  • Philadelphia will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Flyers have a W/L % of .462 after a win and .421 after a loss.
  • Montreal will play their next game on the road against NY Islanders. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .550 after a win and .615 after a loss.