Face Flyers tonight after final trades

Herearefive things you should know about the Canadiens-Flyers game at the Bell Centre on Monday (7:30 p.m. TSN2, RDS. TSN-690), writes Pat Hickey.

1

Waiting for the next shoe to drop The trade deadline is 3 p.m. Monday and Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin got a head start Sunday when he traded veteran centre Tomas Plekanec and minor-leaguer Kyle Baun to Toronto for forward Kerby Rychel, defenceman Rinat Valiev and a second-round pick. What does Bergevin do for an encore? There are reports Los Angeles and Minnesota are among the teams interested in acquiring Max Pacioretty. There might also be interest in backup goaltender Antti Niemi.

2.

Last chance for a win

This is the final meeting between these teams this season. Philadelphia was a 5-3 winner Feb. 8 and came from behind to post a 3-2 overtime win Feb. 20. The Flyers suffered through a 10-game losing streak earlier in the season, but they are currently the hottest team in the NHL with a 9-0-1 record in their last 10 games and have climbed into second place in the Metropolitan Division.

3.

The puck stops here

After strong performances against the Rangers and Lightning, Niemi would seem to be a logical choice for the start against the Flyers. But the Finn has become a lame duck after Charlie Lindgren signed a three-year extension and this might be a good opportunity to test the youngster against a high-powered offence. The Flyers have lost goaltenders Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth to injuries, but they traded for Detroit’s Petr Mrazek and the early returns have been encouraging. Mrazek has won his first two games as a Flyer with a 2.01 goals-against average with a .917 save percentage.

4.

The kids are all right

Rookie defencemen Victor Mete and Noah Juulsen are being asked to play larger roles down the stretch. Juulsen’s NHL debut was delayed because of a broken foot, but his ice time topped 20 minutes in Saturday’s loss to Tampa Bay. Juulsen had a team-high five blocked shots, while Mete had three. Another youngster who has picked up his game is Charles Hudon as the Alma native had an assist in the Lightning game to run his point streak to four games.

5.

Lots of firepower

When these teams met last week, the Flyers were missing forward Wayne Simmonds, who has a habit of coming up big against the Canadiens. That didn’t matter because Jakub Voracek had a monster game with two goals, including the overtime winner. The Flyers are loaded with talented offensive players led by Claude Giroux. Giroux is currently third in the NHL scoring race with 74 points and Voracek isn’t far behind with 69 points, including a league-high 56 assists. The team’s top goal-scorer is former Drummondville Voltigeurs star Sean Couturier, who has 29 goals.