Avalanche Takes on Flyers Wednesday Night

The Colorado Avalanche will continue its three-game homestand when it hosts the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday at Pepsi Center.
The Avs are on a seven-game point streak and are coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames on Monday. Colorado overcame a two-goal deficit to force the extra period but the Flames scored the game-winner about two minutes into the stanza.
Valeri Nichushkin scored his fifth goal in eight games while Nathan MacKinnon, Joonas Donskoi, and Ryan Graves all recorded multi-point outings with a goal and assist each.

The Flyers are coming off of a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Scott Laughton (one goal, one assist) and James van Riemsdyk (two assists) led the team offensively while Carter Hart stopped 27 shots.
The matchup against the Avs is the beginning of a three-game Central Division road trip for Philadelphia that will conclude against the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 15.

Avalanche vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Pepsi Center | Denver, Colo.
| Game Time: | 7:30 p.m. | | --- | --- | | TV: | NBCSN | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5/AM 950 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | NHL.tv, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, Official app | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter | | Get Tickets | Altitude Tickets Account Manager | Pepsi Center | Parking |

COLORADO-PHILADELPHIA CONNECTIONS

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare spent his first two NHL seasons with the Flyers from 2014-16… Chris Stewart was selected at 18th overall by the Avalanche in the first round of the 2006 NHL Draft and played parts of three seasons with Coloradao (2008-11)… Philadelphia goaltender Brian Elliot spent the end of the 2010-11 campaign with the Avs… Flyers assistant coach Ian Laperriere played four seasons in Colorado from 2005-2009.

HISTORY

Colorado owns a 19-10-6 mark against Philadelphia since moving to Denver in 1995. The Avs have won 10 of the 19 matchups at home since arriving in the Mile High City and have only lost four in regulation on their home ice.
The Avalanche swept last season's two-game series against the Flyers, winning 5-2 at home on Oct. 6 and 4-1 in Philadelphia on Oct. 22. Colorado never trailed in either game and scored at least one goal in each of the six periods of the season-series. Gabriel Landeskog scored a goal in both games, while Colin Wilson and Mikko Rantanen each scored twice in the first and second contests, respectively.

ROSTER REPORT

Nazem Kadri is expected to return to the lineup after missing three games with a lower-body injury… Philipp Grubauer (lower body) will be reevaluated after morning skate but Adam Werner was reassigned to the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles on Tuesday.

INJURY UPDATE

Cale Makar is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and is doubtful to play against the Flyers… Erik Johnson remains out with a lower-body injury… Colin Wilson is set to have surgery on a lower-body injury and is out indefinitely.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS

Philadelphia currently sits in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 39 points and a 17-8-5 mark on the season. The Flyers have won seven of their last 10 games (7-2-1), including three of their last four on the road, and have won a league-leading 54.3 percent of faceoffs this season. Philadelphia is tied for the sixth best penalty kill in the league, finding success 84.7 percent of the time.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: Ivan Provorov

Ivan Provorov currently leads the Flyers with four power-play goals and 10 power-play points. He has tallied 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) so far this season and is the fifth leading point-getter for Philadelphia after 30 games. The defenseman has a plus-7 rating, the second highest on the team, and has spent a club-high 24:53 on the ice this season and averages 30.4 shifts per game. He is currently leading all Flyers defensemen in points and his three game-winning goals rank second on his team.
Provorov is in his fourth season with Philadelphia after the club selected him in the first round (No. 7 overall) of the 2015 draft. His seven goals this season already match his total from last year, but he had a career-high 2017-18 campaign with 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists). Provorov has played in 276 NHL contests and tallied 116 points (37 goals, 79 assists) in that time.

NUMBERS GAME

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Ryan Graves recorded his second multi-point game of the season with a goal and an assist on Monday against the Flames. His first multi-point outing of the year was on Nov. 7 against the Nashville Predators where he notched a career-high three points (one goal, two assists).

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The Avs extended their point streak to seven games in the overtime loss to the Calgary Flames on Monday. Colorado has earned 13 of the 14 possible points in its last seven games and is 11-3-1 in its last 15 games, tied with the Winnipeg Jets for the best record in the league since Nov. 7.

11.6

Colorado owns the best shooting percentage in the league with 11.6 percent of its 111 shots finding the back of the net.

NOTEBOOK

Ryan Graves is leading the NHL with a plus-22 rating and is on a seven-game plus streak… The Avs are leading the league with an average of 3.70 goals per game… Colorado is 8-1-2 against Eastern Conference teams this season… Pavel Francouz is unbeaten in regulation in his last eight appearances and owns a .923 save percentage this season… The Avs will conclude this three-game homestand against the New Jersey Devils on Friday.