The Canadiens clearly have the Orange and Black's number.
The Flyers saw their three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday night as they lost 5-4 to the NHL-best Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
They're now winless in Montreal in their last six games.
Both teams scored twice in less than 10 minutes to start the encounter. After Andrei Markov opened the score at 1:06, the Flyers answered right back.
Chris VandeVelde, with his second goal in three games, beat Carey Price at 4:32 on the Flyers’ second shot of the game. Shayne Gostisbehere made it 2-1 at 8:30 after a clever cross-crease pass by Jakub Voracek.
Still in the first period, Montreal’s Greg Pateryn made it 2-2 at 9:09.
The home side regained its lead late in the second period when Alex Galchenyuk, all alone at the side of the net, scored his fourth of the season into a gaping net.
Phillip Danault added a fourth for Montreal at 3:52 of the third.
Claude Giroux gave the Flyers hope at 9:16 with a power-play goal before Tomas Plekanec got one back less than two minutes later.
Travis Konecny got the Flyers back to within one goal at 16:16, but that’s as close as the visitors would come.
Notable goal
Giroux made things interesting in the third period, scoring on the power play to reduce Montreal’s lead to just 4-3. Giroux beat Price from distance with Wayne Simmonds acting as a screen.
Breakaway
Konecny split defensemen Markov and Jeff Petry at the blue line in the first period and left them in his tracks. All alone in front of Price, Konecny lost the handle on his backhand, but Gostisbehere scored just moments later.
Season debut
After missing the first three weeks of the season with a left-knee injury, Michael Del Zotto made his return to the Flyers’ lineup. The 26-year-old finished with an assist, two shots and five hits.
Goalie report
Starting for the fourth consecutive game, Michal Neuvirth was shaky in the first period, giving up two goals on eight shots. In the second, he was unsolicited until the 14-minute mark before giving up a goal to Galchenyuk.
Wasting no time
The Flyers (VandeVelde and Gostisbehere) scored twice on their first five shots. The Canadiens (Markov and Pateryn) scored twice on their first six shots. All four goals came in the game’s first 10 minutes. The two teams had previously combined for just seven goals in the first period this year.
Costly giveaway
Neuvirth was to blame for Montreal’s fourth goal after turning the puck over behind his net. Trying to clear, Neuvirth shot the puck right into the skates of Torrey Mitchell, who fed Danault in the crease.
Shots
The Flyers outshot Montreal 38-17.
Special teams
The Flyers went 2 for 5 with the man advantage, but they conceded a goal on the same four-minute power play they scored on.
Dish best served cold
Revenge will have to wait for the Flyers, who have now dropped their first two games against the Canadiens this season (The Habs won the first meeting, 3-1, two weeks ago). The third and final encounter this year is Feb. 2, 2017 at Wells Fargo Center.
Scratches
Injured: Defenseman Andrew McDonald (lower body). Healthy: Defenseman Nick Schultz and forward Nick Cousins.
Up next
The Flyers return home to host the Detroit Red Wings at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday — less than one week after beating Detroit 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday.