Fight erupts before handshake line between Flyers and eliminated Habs!

The Montreal Canadiens had all the right elements to get motivated for their do or die Game 6 against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night. They have been playing for their head coach Claude Julien, whose been out ever since he suffered a cardiac episode after Game 1. On top of that, the Habs were without forward Brendan Gallagher, who suffered a broken jaw during Game 5, and wanted to get the win for him.

Unfortunately, they fell short, losing 3-2 at the hands of the Flyers, who are moving on to face the New York Islanders in the second round of the postseason. 

As soon as the horn blew, the Flyers celebrated and Derek Grant thought it would be funny to tap on the head of young forward Nick Suzuki. During Game 5 after he had scored a goal, Suzuki had tapped the head of Flyers' goalie Carter Hart but said after the contest that "he wasn’t really thinking; he was excited by the goal" that it was unintentional and just a reaction.

But the Flyers remembered and made sure to make him pay. Teammates Jonathan Drouin and captain Shea Weber did not appreciate and a scuffle ensued right before the handshakes. 

After the game, players met at centre ice for the traditional hand shake line and there was so much tension, you could cut it with a knife. Hours before the game, Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin and Flyers coach Alain Vigneault traded verbal jabs, with probably didn’t help. However, there were some nice moments in there too, especially when Hart met his childhood hero Carey Price, who seemed to have kind words for him. 

No one expected the Canadiens to even make it to the first round of the playoffs, as they were major underdogs against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the best of five qualifying series. 

Carey Price is one of the main reasons the Habs managed to stay alive as long as they had during the postseason, and it is easy to see how the goalie knows his window to win a Stanley Cup is slowly closing. 

We wonder if he and the Habs will get another shot next season. 

But we know for sure the rivalry between the Canadiens and Flyers has gotten more intense after this postseason!