POSTGAME 5: Avs Roll Over Flyers, 6-3

The Philadelphia Flyers had trouble keeping up with the host Colorado Avalanche in a 6-3 loss at Ball Arena on Friday evening. The Flyers were under attack from the outset and were outskated by a wide margin for two-plus periods.

In the first period, the Flyers responded to a goal by Nazem Kadri (25th goal of the season) with a rebound follow-up tally by James van Riemsdyk (16th). The tie was very short-lived as the Flyers took a penalty on the next shift and then yielded a Cale Makar power play goal (23rd) off the first faceoff on Colorado's power play. The Avalanche later got favorable bounces on goals by J.T. Compher (13th) and Mikko Rantanen (32nd) as they took a 4-1 lead to intermission.
The carnage continued in the second period. The Flyers were under constant attack but limited the damage to a Kurtis MacDermid goal (2nd) that deflected off a Flyers forward up high off a faceoff in the Philadelphia zone. Zac MacEwen (2nd) scored for the Flyers in the last minute of the frame, as the Avalanche took a 5-2 lead to the locker room.
In the third period, Max Willman (3rd) reduced the deficit to 5-3. Less than a minute later, Makar (24th) scored his goal of the game off a faceoff as Colorado immediately went ahead again by three goals.
Carter Hart was besieged by a 50-shot assault from Colorado. He made 44 saves. Pavel Francouz earned the win with 29 saves on 32 shots.
The Flyers went 0-for-2 on the power play. Colorado went 1-for-3.
Travis Konecny missed the game with a lower-body injury. He is considered day-to-day. Oskar Lindblom returned to the lineup after missing Thursday's game in St. Louis with an undisclosed physical ailment.
TURNING POINT
Any momentum the Flyers might have drawn from the van Riemsdyk goal that tied the score at 1-1 in the first period was quickly snuffed out. Kevin Connauton took a tripping penalty on the very next shift and the first faceoff of the Avalanche power play was immediately turned into a Makar goal.
Just like that, the Flyers were trailing again. By the end of the first period, two deflection goals off Flyers' defensemen had Philly buried, 4-1. The rest of the game saw each team score twice, so the end result was still a three-goal margin of victory for Colorado.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) Shots were 3-2 in Colorado's favor through the first 7:02 of the game. The Avalanche had the game's first two scoring chances on a Valeri Nichushkin shot from in close and a Cale Makar shot that hit the post.
Colorado took a 1-0 lead at 7:20 as they scored on a rush off a breakout. Kadri found operating room over the middle, used Nick Seeler as a screen and fired a low shot past Hart. The assists went to J.T. Compher and Erik Johnson.
At 9:53, Hart had to sprawl out to deny Kadri on a second-chance opportunity near the left post. A few shifts later, the Morgan Frost line got caught on a long shift and weren't able to get a puck deep enough to change. Hart had to stop a Compher shot from the left circle.
The Flyers finally generated a meaningful chance at 12:19. Travis Sanheim carried the puck up the ice himself and found Hayden Hodgson near the net. Francouz made the stop.
Two shifts later, the Flyers very briefly tied game at 1-1. Hard work by Joel Farabee got the puck to van Riemsdyk. Firing a low shot off Francouz's pads, JVR scored over the glove on his own rebound at 13:02.Cam Atkinson earned the secondary assist.

On the next shift, Kevin Connauton was called for tripping, with the Flyers touching up at 13:41. The Avalanche scored moments later to retake the lead. Kadri won a left circle faceoff back to Makar. From center point, Makar measured a shot that found the net through traffic at 13:46 to make it 2-1.
The Avalanche opened a 3-1 lead on a puck-luck goal at 16:17. From behind the net, Compher tried to jam the puck out front. As Seeler tried to block the puck, it ramped up his stick, went off Hart's back and dropped over the goal line. Kadri and Josh Manson were credited with assists.
Colorado got another favorable bounce to take a 4-1 edge at 18:06, A Rantanen shot was accidentally deflected by Keith Yandle and changed directions past Hart. The assists went to Nathan MacKinnon and Johnson.
2) The nightmarish first period was exactly what the Flyers were aiming to avoid in their third game in four nights. The Flyers spent too much time defending and the Avs had puck luck, but it was also self-made to a large degree. First period shots on goal were 18-10 in the Avs' favor. Shot attempts were a whopping 31-13 Avs (70.45 percent team Corsi for Colorado). Scoring chances were an eye-popping 18-8 in Colorado's favor (7-3 high-danger edge).
3) On the second shift of the middle period, Oskar Lindblom turned the puck over in his defensive zone. Hart took a Nazem Kadri shot off the mask from the left circle. At 1:45, Kadri swooped around behind the net and was denied by Hart as he cut out in front.
Flyers forwards neglected trailers and weak-side coverages and Hart was forced to make tough stops, respectively on Makar and then Devon Toews. Another Colorado goal felt imminent if the Flyers continued to give up so much open space, however.
At 6:40, TIppett had a breakaway opportunity after claiming a puck in the neutral zone. Francouz made the save.
Hart made three saves in quick succession on MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin and Toews then caught a break as the whistle blew with the puck still uncovered at 7:56. At 9:15, Nico Sturm won a puck race and got the puck on net, forcing Hart to stretch out to make the stop.Shots were 12-3 Avs.
At 11:45 after Max Willman broke his stick and Travis Sanheim slid to attempt a shot block, ex-Flyer Nicolas Aube-Kubel fired a shot on net that Hart corralled for a stoppage. However, the Avalanche scored off the net faceoff. Once again the puck deflected off a Flyer after Darren Helm won the draw with help from Andrew Cogliano. MacDermid's redirected point shot eluded Hart's glove as Colorado opened a 5-1 lead.
Farabee received a tripping penalty at 13:40. The Flyers got through the kill. Shots on goal for the period at the penalty's expiration were 17-6 in Colorado's favor.
The Flyers cut the deficit to 5-2 with 31.2 seconds left in the second period. Cam York connected on a blue line to blue line pass to MacEwen. Fending off Makar and he moved in, MacEwen put a turnaround shot past Francouz.

Philly got their first power play of the game at 19:36 as Johnson was called for tripping Farabee. Tippett was unable to convert a potential buzzer-beater opportunity. The Flyers took 1:36 of carryover power play time into the third period.
4) Apart from the last minute push and the earlier Tippett breakaway, the ice was positively tilted against the Flyers in the second period. Colorado skated circles around their counterparts. Shots on goal in the period ended up 19-10 in Colorado's favor. Shot attempts were 32-13 Avs (71.11 percent Corsi). Scoring chances were 22-4 Colorado (9-3 high-danger).
5) Farabee carried the mail through defenders and Hayes set up a shot for Tippett from the left circle during the carryover power play. JVR attempted a stuff-in shortly before the man advantage expired. Travis Sanheim and Ivan Provorov were on PP2 this time, with Hodgson, Frost and van Riemsdyk up front.
With play back at 5-on-5, Hart had to move across quickly to stop a MacKinnon one-timer off a cross-seam pass from Toews.
At 5:25, MacEwen accidentally caught Kadri up in the face with a high stick in a puck battle behind the Colorado net. MacEwen received a two-minute minor. MacKinnon fumbled the puck away on a breakaway. Later, he was stopped by Hart on a one-timer from the left circle. For the second straight game, Seeler was hobbled by a shot block off his skate but got up to finish the shift.
Forechecking work by Willman and Hayes started an attack for the Flyers. Hayes sent the puck to Sanheim on the other side and Willman moved over the middle and buried a backhand rebound chance in front to narrow the deficit to 5-3 at 7:44.

The Avalanche promptly restored a three-goal lead at 8:25. Rantanen won a faceoff against Patrick Brown. Markar then zig-zagged to find a shooting line at the top of the circle and fired the puck home through a Rantanen screen.
Farabee had a partial breakaway and attempted a between-the-legs shot but was broken up by Johnson.
Later, at 12:45, Farabee dropped the gloves with Kadri after the Colorado forward took exception to getting hit in the corner in the Flyers' zone. Kadri received an extra minor for holding as he jawed initially at Farabee. The Flyers did nothing with the ensuing power play.
Frost finessed a puck to Tippett for a scoring chance with about 4:30 left in the game. Hodgson was denied on a follow-up attempt. It was the respective sixth shots on goal for both Tippett and Hodgson.
Third period shots were 14-12 in Colorado's favor. Third period shot attempts were 20-15 Colorado (57.1 percent Corsi). Scoring chances were 8-6 in the Flyers' favor (3-1 high-danger edge for Philadelphia).