NHL Playoffs: Philadelphia Flyers vs Montreal Canadiens Game 1 preview, stream, start time, TV channel and more

The Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens are set to drop the puck for their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals matchup 

The Stanley Cup Qualifiers provided a plethora of high-octane action, staggering upsets and surprising sleeper picks to an NHL fandom collectively starved for hockey to return. The Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens each sowed their fair share of chaos during the preliminary round and staged performances that put the rest of the league on notice.

After a tremendous second-half to the 2019-20 regular season, the Flyers looked destined to become a real playoff threat in the East. However, after a long layoff due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, many were left wondering if the Flyers were actually as good as their record, or if they were just riding a hot streak.

Well, the Flyers silenced these questions in short order. Philadelphia went a perfect 3-0 in the Round Robin games, handily dispatching the East’s other juggernauts. The Flyers stymied the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning, allowing just three total goals while racking up 11 of their own and clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference in the process.

The Montreal Canadiens rode a bit of a different story into the playoffs. Following a season of turmoil in Montreal which included not one, but two eight-game losing streaks, the NHL’s expanded playoff format gave the Canadiens new life and a date with Sidney Crosby and the vaunted Pittsburgh Penguins.

Unfettered, the Canadiens pulled off a miraculous upset win, downing the Penguins in four games, thus earning themselves a chance to compete for Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Now these two teams will square off in a prime time matchup.

What to watch for:

The Philadelphia Flyers absolutely smothered their competition in the Round Robin, allowing the least amount of shots and goals in the league through their three games. They also featured a “scoring by committee” approach to the Round Robin, with the majority of their goals coming from the depth of their lineup, not the big guns like Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier. Finally, Carter Hart was superb in his initial foray into playoff hockey, allowing just one even strength goal in two games.

On the other side of the ice, the Montreal Canadiens played a different game. They lost the territorial battle to the Penguins pretty significantly — getting outshot 34-29 on average — but Carey Price was the ultimate equalizer. Price had a sparkling 1.67 GAA and .947 SV% in his four starts, and allowed Montreal’s scrappy and opportunistic forward group to keep things close until they were able to pounce on a scoring chance.

The Flyers are a much more balanced team than Pittsburgh was — and Montreal for that matter — so the task and toll should be much greater for Price. Boasting potentially the deepest team in the playoffs outside of Tampa, when the Flyers forwards are clicking, they create waves of offense. That being said if Price remains hot, anything is possible.

One “X-Factor” to watch for the Flyers is whether or not their top line of Giroux-Couturier-Voracek can get going. The trio played superb defensively through the Round Robin, locking down players like David Pastrnak, Alex Ovechkin and Nikita Kucherov, but failed to score. If they get going against Montreal, look out.

How to watch Game 1 of Flyers vs Canadiens

When: Wednesday, 8pm ET

Television: NBC Sports Network, NBC Sports Philadelphia, CBC (Canada), Sportsnet (Canada)

Stream: NBC Sports App

Live Stream: Fubo TV (subscription required, but includes seven-day free trial), NBCSN, r/NHL Streams