Flyers vs. Canadiens: Montreal Michkov Mania; Kolosov NHL Debut?

Fresh off an insane 7-5 win over the visiting Minnesota Wild on Saturday afternoon, the Philadelphia Flyers look to further improve their 2-5-1 record when they host the Montreal Canadiens at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday night.

Having scored a combined 10 goals in their last two games, the Flyers’ offense is starting to show signs of life. Now they just need the defense to do the same.

The only problem is that they’ll have to try and do so in the absence of top defenseman Cam York, who was placed on injured reserve on Saturday night.

Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov has not done the forwards and defensemen in front of him many favors thus far, which is why Alexei Kolosov was called up from the AHL on Saturday night and is likely to make his NHL debut vs. the Canadiens at some point.

After a dismal start to the 2024-25 season, the Flyers will take all the help they can get when they can get it.

Flyers Game Lineup

Travis Konecny – Sean Couturier – Matvei Michkov

Owen Tippett – Morgan Frost – Garnet Hathaway

Scott Laughton – Ryan Poehling – Joel Farabee

Nick Deslauriers – Noah Cates – Tyson Foerster

Extras: Bobby Brink

Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen

Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale

Egor Zamula – Erik Johnson

Alexei Kolosov (S), Ivan Fedotov

Extras: Emil Andrae, Sam Ersson

Canadiens Game Lineup

Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Kirby Dach

Josh Anderson – Jake Evans – Brendan Gallagher

Alex Newhook – Oliver Kapanen – Joel Armia

Michael Pezzetta – Christian Dvorak – Emil Heineman

Lane Hutson – David Savard

Jayden Struble – Logan Mailloux

Arber Xhekaj – Mike Matheson

Cayden Primeau (S), Sam Montembeault

For the first time in what feels like an eternity, it appears as though the Flyers are going to maintain a relatively unchanged lineup from game to game.

If nothing else, the top line of Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, and Matvei Michkov really showed its stuff on Saturday against the Wild, and the Flyers certainly cannot afford to sacrifice that kind of offense at any point in the year.

With Jett Luchanko out of the picture, sophomore forward Bobby Brink is the lone extra forward, having already fallen out of favor and sitting behind Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates, and even Nick Deslauriers.

After Emil Andrae and Alexei Kolosov were called up from the AHL on Saturday night, it is possible that one or both make their season debuts, though all signs have pointed towards Kolosov making his NHL debut against the Canadiens at the expense of one of Ivan Fedotov or Sam Ersson.

How to watch the Flyers game

Sunday night’s Flyers game will be televised on NBC Sports Philadelphia. For those unable to watch the Flyers game, a radio broadcast will be available on 97.5 The Fanatic.

For more Flyers news and up-to-date coverage, visit Philly Hockey Now and like our Facebook page.
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