In a Saturday matinee in South Philly, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (25-14-6) will host Jared Bednar's Colorado Avalanche (29-14-3) at Wells Fargo Center. Game time is 1:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the second and final meeting of the season series between the teams, and the lone game in Philadelphia. Back on Dec. 9, the Flyers rolled to a 5-2 victory over the Avs in an action-packed game at Ball Arena.
The Flyers bring a five-game winning streak into Saturday afternoon's game. On Thursday, in one of the team's best 60-minute performances of the 2020s, the Flyers dominated a very good Dallas Stars team on the way to a rousing 5-1 victory. The Flyers outplayed the Stars in all three periods, showing a relentless forecheck, speed on the rush, strong goaltending and solid play on both ends of special teams.
For the Flyers, Saturday's match is the second game of a four-game homestand. The Avalanche are playing the final tilt of a five-game eastern road trip. Colorado is 2-2-0 on the trip so far and needs a victory to secure a winning trip before a three-night break and two home games to end the month of January.
Here are five things to watch on Saturday afternoon:
1. Can Flyers wear down the Avs?
The Flyers have played three very strong all-around games in a row in shutting out the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre, pulling away in the third period against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center and dismantling Dallas at Wells Fargo Center. The win over Dallas saw the Flyers play about as masterfully as any hockey team can play.
It's unrealistic to expect the Flyers to duplicate those performances, period after period and game after game regardless of the opponent. Nevertheless, the way the team has played in its last three games shows what the Flyers are capable of when they bring their "A" game.
The Avalanche witnessed that firsthand on their home ice when they played the Flyers in Denver last month. Now the Flyers have to bring a similar level of energy and focus if they are to win both games of the season series.
Entering this game, the Flyers have an on-paper "fatigue factor" edge since getting home from the road trip. They had back-to-back days off on Tuesday and Wednesday and then a Skills Day practice session run by Angelo Ricci on Friday. The Avs are playing their fifth game across five Canadian and U.S. cities in less than eight nights.
Keep in mind, though, that the Flyers were in that very same predicament during their own recent midwestern road trip (and had two key players missing from the lineup in the latter two games). The Flyers' skaters and goaltenders still stepped up to outplay both the Jets and Blues to earn well-deserved victories.
Moral of the story: a "fatigue factor" only BECOMES a factor if a team is forced to to play from behind ("chase the game") and gets worn down in the process to where they lack the skating legs to pull out a win come crunch time. It's up to the Flyers to wear down the Avalanche on Saturday.
2. The nucleus and the supporting cast
After missing the games in Winnipeg and St. Louis, Sean Couturier returned to the Flyers' lineup for Thursday's home game against Dallas, along with defenseman Jamie Drysdale. One game earlier, two-way forward Noah Cates returned from a broken foot suffered in late November.
With a full lineup at Tortorella's disposal, the Flyers showed strong depth both up front and along the blueline.
A trio of Owen Tippett (game-winning goal, 10 shots), Morgan Frost (assist, six scoring chances created) and Travis Konecny (assist) dominated in the St. Louis game on Monday. On Thursday, with Couturier ready to play, the two-time Selke Trophy finalist stepped between Tippett (two goals) and Konecny while Frost (two primary assists) centered Joel Farabee (secondary assist) and Cam Atkinson (power play goal).
Cates played center on Monday and moved to left wing on Thursday. A fourth line combination of Cates (who also rotated periodically onto other lines), Ryan Poehling and rotating right wingers enabled the Flyers to do a lot more forechecking and attacking while defending less often.
Tippett is on a goal-scoring tear right now: five goals and six points in his last five games. Over Frost's last seven games, the center has posted a pair of goals and five assists. Meanwhile, Atkinson broke through a 26-game goal drought and has scored three goals in the last three games.
Team-leading scorer Konecny (21 goals, 40 points in 45 games) has not scored a goal in the last five games but has posted four assists in that span and remained a constant threat to score shorthanded with Philly on the PK. Farabee, who bagged an empty-net goal to ice the win in St, Louis, has three goals and five points over the team's last four matches.
Tyson Foerster broke free from a 16-game goal drought with a key third-period tally in the Flyers' OT win in Minnesota that started the road trip. However, the Flyers still need him to get back offensively to where he was at the tail end of November and early December. Over his last 20 games, the rookie winger has posted seven points (1g, 6a) and has taken eight minor penalties. He's remained strong in board battles and backchecking but is capable of a higher offensive level. The scoring chances have been there for him.
On the back end, the Flyers have regularly dressed seven defensemen of late in order to allow rookie Egor Zamula to stay in the lineup and continue playing on the power play. That is likely to continue against Colorado. The pairings of Travis Sanheim with Drysdale, Cam York with Sean Walker and Nick Seeler with Rasmus Ristolainen are the main three, with Zamula mixing and matching into some 5-on-5 shifts and seeing time on the power play unit that has Konecny, Couturier, Farabee and Tippett.
3. Weekend goalie rotation: Hart likely to start vs. Avs
The Flyers are presently in an enviable situation in terms of their goaltending. While many clubs are searching for better depth and consistency in net, the Flyers have two goalies who are presently both healthy and playing well: Carter Hart (12-8-3, 2.67 GAA, .912 SV%, one shutout) and Samuel Ersson (12-5-3, 2.26 GAA, .911 SV%, three shutouts).
Recently, the Flyers have been using Hart and Ersson on virtually an alternating-game basis. With Ersson having started against Dallas and the Flyers right back in action on Sunday afternoon, Hart would appear to be the probable starter against Colorado.
Hart was a major factor in the Flyers' win in Denver back on Dec. 9. On that night, Hart turned back 38 of 40 shots and was especially strong in crunch time. Ideally, the Flyers won't need their goalie -- whether it's Hart or Ersson -- to be kept that busy again by the dangerous Colorado attack. If it works out that way, though, the Flyers' goaltending has shown that it can stand up to the pressure.
The Flyers enter Saturday's game tied for the fifth-lowest team goals against average (2.64) in the NHL this season. They'll face a Colorado offense that is ranked second in the NHL with a robust 3.70 goals per game average.
Just as with Winnipeg and Dallas, the best way to combat the Avalanche's dangerous offense is to force them to play as much in their own end zone possible. Colorado is a middle-of-the-pack team in preventing opposition goals (3.15 GAA, ranked 18th). The Flyers have moved up eighth in the NHL offensively with a 2.91 goals per game average. Philadelphia's ability to attack off the rush and generate odd-man transition rushes and breakaways has become something of which the entire league is now aware.
4. Flyers special teams vs. Colorado special teams
The Flyers have scored a power play goal in six of their last seven games: two for Atkinson and one apiece for Couturier, Tippett, Frost and Farabee (4-on-3 overtime winner). In the one game Philly did not tally a power play goal (the match in St. Louis), Foerster had a potential goal on his stick in prime scoring range but was unable to beat St. Louis goalie Joel Hofer.
Side note: Of the Flyers' six power play goals during this stretch Frost has points on four including three primary assists. Presently, Frost is skating on PP2 along with Drysdale, Atkinson, Foerster, and Scott Laughton. Three of his four PP points came while on the second unit. The other came while on the first unit with Farabee serving 17 minutes of penalties in a home win against Calgary.
For the season, the Flyers still rank last in the NHL on the power play at 12.6 percent (18-for-143). Philly has allowed two shorthanded goals.
The Avalanche's penalty kill ranks 11th in the NHL at 81.3 percent success (opponents are 29-for-155). Colorado has scored six shorthanded goals this season: three for Logan O'Connor and one apiece for Andrew Cogliano, Miles Wood and defenseman Josh Manson.
Philly's penalty kill ranks second in the NHL this season at 86.5 percent success (opposing power plays are 19-for-141).The Flyers remain tied for the NHL's shorthanded goal lead with 10: five for Konecny, two for Walker and one apiece for Poehling, Laughton, and Garnet Hathaway.
5. Behind Enemy Lines: Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche, who bring an 11-9-3 road record (18-5-0 at home) into Saturday afternoon's game, have alternated wins and losses so far on their eastern road trip. Colorado beat the Toronto Maple Leafs (5-3), lost to the Montreal Canadiens (4-3), and then cruised past the Ottawa Senators (7-4).
On Thursday night, the Avalanche fell to the Bruins by a 5-2 score. Boston scored three times in the first period and twice in the final frame. Wood and the ever-dangerous Nathan MacKinnon (24th goal of the season) tallied for Colorado. Cale Makar earned his 43rd assist of the season on MacKinnon's second period goal.In a losing cause, Alexandar Georgiev made 26 saves on 30 shots. The final Boston goal was an empty-netter.
Although Gabriel Landeskog has been unavailable to play this season, the top end of the Colorado lineup rivals the Edmonton Oilers for sheer superstar power. MacKinnon is second in the Art Ross Trophy race with 24 goals and 49 assists while dressing in all 46 games the Avs have played. Frequent linemate Mikko Rantanen is also a constant threat to score or make a play (24g, 34a).
Makar (10g, 43a, 53 points) is tied with Vancouver's Quinn Hughes for the NHL scoring lead among defenseman. Pulling down an average 24:57 of ice time per game, the 25-year-old Makar is a prime contender to win his second Norris Trophy.
Makar's left defense partner, Devon Toews (8g. 20a, 24:15 TOI) is also having an excellent season in his own right.
MacKinnon and Makar were no-brainer selections for the 2024 NHL All-Star Game. By fan vote, workhorse goaltender Georgiev (38 GP, 24-11-2 record, .896 save percentage, two shutouts) is also headed to the All-Star Game.
Ivan Prosvetov (11 GP. 4-3-1 record, 3.16 GAA, .895 save percentage) was in net when the Avs hosted the Flyers earlier this season. Goalie prospect Justus Annunen won in Ottawa (36 saves on 40 shots) during the current road trip but has since been reassigned to the AHL's Colorado Eagles.
In addition to Landeskog (offseason knee surgery, recently resumed skating but expected to miss the entire season), the Avalanche are missing some valuable personnel from their lineup. Artturi Lehkonen (upper body) is the closest to returning. Valeri Nichhuskin (NHL Player Assistance Program) is out indefinitely while dealing with a personal issue. Highly regarded young defenseman Bowen Byrum is on IR with an upper-body injury. Goalie Pavel Francouz (groin) is out for the season.
