Montreal, QC – Scott Hartnell netted the seventh hat trick of his career as the Philadelphia Flyers pummeled the Montreal Canadiens, 7-3, on Monday.
Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek each posted a goal and two assists while Wayne Simmonds and Erik Gustafsson also scored for the Flyers, who snapped a four- game losing streak to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive.
Also thanks to 25 saves from Ilya Bryzgalov, Philly now has 39 points on the season and sits seven back of the New York Rangers for the final spot in the Eastern Conference.
"It's nice to contribute and we're not out of it yet, so there's always a chance," said Hartnell. "We started sitting back there for a little bit, but I thought we responded well. We played our system and played hard and got a big two points here."
Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher each posted a goal for the Canadiens, who have dropped two of three. Carey Price gave up six goals on 29 shots in two periods while Peter Budaj allowed one in on four shots in the third period.
"This is a game of pride and you have to come to the game ready to play," said Montreal head coach Michel Therrien. "The last two games there was no intensity on our part and no work ethic and it's disappointing. Obviously everyone wasn't ready to play and we don't have much time before the playoffs."
Montreal sits in second place in the Eastern Conference and first in the Northeast Division with a one-point lead over the Boston Bruins.
Boston was scheduled to host Ottawa on Monday, but the game was canceled in the wake of the twin bomb blasts that occurred at the Boston Marathon on Monday.
The Flyers scored just 2:45 into the game as Simmonds let fly with a slap shot from the right circle that was stopped, but the rebound came back to him and he chipped it out front where the puck went off a Habs stick and into the net.
It was a 2-0 game three minutes later as Gustafsson wristed a shot from in front that went through a screen provided by Simon Gagne.
Montreal got one back with 57.2 seconds to play in the first period while on the power play as Tomas Plekanec sent a pass from the right point to the slot where Pacioretty re-directed the puck between the pads of Bryzgalov.
The goal sparked the Habs as the team tied the game just 38 seconds into the second period on the power play when Gallagher netted his 13th of the year off a feed from Pacioretty.
The Flyers, though, answered 24 seconds later when a Canadiens player overskated the puck behind his own net and Giroux quickly passed it out front where Voracek one-timed it home.
Skating on the man advantage, Philly made it a 4-2 game when Giroux sent a short pass from the left circle to the slot and Hartnell one-timed it in at the 7:30 mark.
Montreal kept it close by scoring just two minutes later as Davis Drewiske's shot from the right point was stopped, but Galchenyuk put the rebound home while battling out front.
The Flyers, though, got it back with 9:14 to play in the second as Voracek grabbed the rebound of a Giroux shot and sent it back to Giroux, who one-timed it home for his 13th of the year and a 5-3 lead.
Hartnell scored on a re-direct off a Voracek pass with 32.4 seconds to play in the second on the power play, and capped the hat trick with 7:15 to play in the game on a one-timer from the slot.
Game Notes
The Flyers tied a season-high in goals ... Voracek matched a career-high in goals with his 18th of the season ... Philadelphia hosts the Rangers on Tuesday ... Montreal plays in Pittsburgh on Wednesday ... Philly took two of the three games against Montreal this season ... Both teams went 2-for-6 on the power play.
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