Playing With A Purpose

There's no denying that a head coach has a significant impact on a team when it comes to how the play on the ice. Claude Julien's absence tonight in the game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the team he coaches in the Montreal Canadiens seemed to have a big impact as well as the Canadiens played with a chip on their shoulders and an inspired confidence in handing Philadelphia their first loss since restarting the season with a resounding 5-0 victory. With Julien's health status in limbo, it seemed that the Canadiens were dead-set on playing a Claude Julien-type game, and the results spoke for themselves on the scoreboard.

Claude Julien experienced chest pain on Wednesday night, it was determined that he would visit a Toronto hospital for further testing. According to reports, Julien underwent heart surgery sometime on Thursday in order to add a stent to a coronary artery. Needless to say, the Canadiens' bench boss likely won't be back behind the bench in this series, and I'd say it might be a good idea to hold him out of the bubble and these playoffs for precautionary reasons once he's released from the hospital.

In his place, Kirk Muller took over the reins for the Canadiens, and the team responded well as they got on the scoreboard just 1:02 into the game when Tomas Tatar dented twine behind Carter Hart. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Tatar again, Joel Armia, and Kotkaniemi again rounded out the scoring on a night where the loneliest guy in the rink was Carey Price who didn't see a shot off a Flyers stick until the 16:24 mark, stopping that shot and 29 others for the 30-save shutout to even the series at 1-1.

After the game, Kirk Muller summed up the effort by les bleus-blancs-et-rouges with one line, saying, "To Claude, I'm sure you're listening, this win's for you."

It was a game where the Flyers seemingly hurt themselves more defensively than the Canadiens did in shredding the defensive coverage. Justin Braun was guilty of screening Carter Hart on Tatar's second of the game to make it 3-0. Shayne Gostisbehere's skate redirected the Armia cross-ice pass into his own net for the fourth goal. Hart found himself without his stick following a bad defensive sequence on the first Kotkaniemi goal, and Brian Elliott, who replaced Hart after the fourth Montreal goal, saw Scott Laughton lose his stick before Kotkaniemi potted his second goal of the night.

Regardless of how the Flyers played, though, the Canadiens still came out and executed, looking like the hungrier team all night. Sometimes, teams become far more dangerous when they're playing for a cause or playing with a purpose. Winning for Julien would be a great cause for the Canadiens to rally around when it comes to their coach. Could it be the inspiration that the Canadiens need to shock a second Pennsylvania team?

We'll know how the Flyers will respond on Sunday, but sleeping on this hard-working, talented group of players that Montreal has cost the Pittsburgh Penguins a shot at the Stanley Cup. If Philly didn't learn that tonight, we may find out that the Canadiens owned Pennsylvania hockey for at least a month in 2020.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!