Trade winds blow as Flyers prepare for Habs
The Flyers explored deals for Jay Bouwmeester, Jaromir Jagr and Ryane Clowe and went 0 for 3.
No, it wasn't in honor of their 0-3 start, which kicked off this mess of a season.
They might make pitches before Wednesday's 3 p.m. trade deadline for defensemen Keith Yandle, Mark Streit and Jamie McBain, among others.
If GM Paul Holmgren comes up empty, the Flyers better hope the hungry team that stunned Boston on Saturday and rallied dramatically past Washington on Sunday shows up Wednesday night against visiting Montreal.
Oh, and for their 12 other remaining games this season.
The Flyers (15-17-3) have almost no margin for error. Despite a two-game winning streak, they are 13th in the Eastern Conference and six points behind the eighth-place New York Islanders. They do have two games in hand on the Isles and they do face them twice more, so there's that.
But that's jumping ahead. On Wednesday, they will face the surprising Canadiens (23-7-5), who scored a 4-1 win (including an empty-netter) over the Flyers and backup goalie Brian Boucher in their only meeting this season.
Flyers workhorse Ilya Bryzgalov will make his 34th start in 36 games and is expected to face Carey Price, who has been hot lately but is 1-5 with a 3.38 goals-against average in his last six games against the Flyers.
"It seems like every night we'll have a chance to tie a team or pass a team because it's such a close race," said winger Scott Hartnell. "This is where you cipher between the boys and men."
The Flyers are aiming for their first three-game winning streak of the season, while the Habs are gunning for their fourth straight victory. Montreal has an eye-opening 12-3-2 road record
The Flyers are No. 1 in the NHL on the power play (24.8 percent) and No. 8 on the penalty kill (83.9 percent). Montreal is No. 9 on the PP (21.3 percent) and No. 16 (81.1 percent) on the PK.
Montreal has a big advantage in five-on-five play, during which it is third in the 30-team NHL while the Flyers are 28th.
Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.