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Habs try to even East semifinals in Philadelphia

Wed 30th, April 2008

(Sports Network) - The top-seeded Montreal Canadiens will try to draw even in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals tonight, when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers for Game 4 at the Wachovia Center.

The Canadiens won Game 1 in overtime, but sixth-seeded Philadelphia has taken two in a row to earn a 2-1 series advantage. The Flyers could move one step away from the Eastern Conference finals with another victory tonight.

After posting a 4-2 decision in Montreal on Saturday, the Flyers returned home and notched a victory in Monday's Game 3 matchup in South Philadelphia.

Martin Biron made 32 saves and Philadelphia scored three times in the second period as the Flyers held on for the 3-2 decision and a one-game lead in the series.

Dating back to Game 7 of Philly's opening-round series against Washington, Biron has stopped 135-of-145 shots for a .931 save percentage. The 30-year-old netminder is 6-4 with a 2.66 goals against average and .913 save percentage in 10 games during his first-ever NHL postseason.

Scottie Upshall, Mike Richards and R.J. Umberger each scored a goal for the Flyers, who are trying to make it to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since losing to Tampa Bay in seven games during that stage in the 2004 playoffs.

Tomas Plekanec and Saku Koivu each had a goal while Carey Price was charged with all three goals on 12 shots for the Canadiens. Price was pulled from net after the second period and Jaroslav Halak finished the third by stopping the only two shots he faced.

Price, a 20-year-old rookie, was solid in Montreal's conference quarterfinal series against Boston, but has had a rough time in the second round. The Vancouver native has allowed 10 goals on 68 shots in the series for a dismal .853 save percentage.

Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau declined to name either Price or Halak as the starter in goal for Game 4.

The Flyers are hoping to get a boost tonight as winger Mike Knuble is expected to play this evening, returning from a torn hamstring suffered in Game 5 against Washington. Knuble had two goals and three assists against the Capitals and posted 29 goals and 55 points during the regular season.

Montreal is the only Canadian team remaining in the playoffs. No team based in Canada has won a Stanley Cup since the Canadiens earned their NHL-record 24th title in 1993.

The Habs are in the second round for the first time since 2004, when they lost to Tampa Bay in the conference semifinals. The Flyers also were last in the second round that season as they made it to the East finals before losing to the Lightning.

The Canadiens were a perfect 4-0 against Philadelphia during the regular season and outscored the Flyers by a 15-6 margin over that span. However, Montreal was 8-0 against the Bruins this year and wound up going seven games with Boston in the first round.

Montreal is 3-1 all-time in playoff series against the Flyers, including a win in the 1976 Stanley Cup finals. The last postseason encounter between the teams came in 1989, when the Habs defeated Philly in the Wales Conference finals.

The Flyers had an average 21-14-6 record at home this year, while the Habs posted a solid 25-12-4 mark as the visitors.

Montreal was 9-1 all-time in playoff games in Philadelphia before Monday's setback. It was the Canadiens first-ever postseason game at the Wachovia Center, which opened in 1996.

Game 5 of this series is scheduled for Saturday night at Montreal.

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