The Philadelphia Flyers will take on the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night in search of their fourth consecutive victory.
The Flyers are coming off an impressive 4-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night. Travis Konecny notched two goals, Joel Farabee and Cam York chipped in with tallies of their own, and Carter Hart stopped 25 shots en route to the win.
“We’re out to prove people wrong,” said Sean Couturier on Thursday after the game. “We’re building something special here.”
Philadelphia was counted out by many to begin the season and the team was not expected to be in a top three position in the Metropolitan Division, much less a Wild Card berth, in what was deemed a rebuilding year.
“Building and just getting more mature,” said Travis Konecny on Thursday night. “All the young guys are a year older from last year and we’re just trying to make a good culture here that everyone kind of falls into and just continues to work and believe in each other.”
Everyone seems to be doing their part in helping the Flyers earn their early season success, and over 30 percent of the way through the year, they continue to turn heads and put the league on notice on a nightly basis.
That being said, the Flyers will have their hands full tonight against the always dangerous Colorado Avalanche.
Colorado has lost four of their last five after previous embarking on a four-game winning streak and are hungry to right the ship.
Star center Nathan MacKinnon leads the club with 36 points (10g, 26a) and ranks tied for fifth in the league in total scoring. MacKinnon is on a 10-game point streak and has only been held off the scoresheet six times in 26 games this season. If the Flyers want to win tonight, stopping #29 in Burgundy and Blue will be their highest priority.
Of course, the Avalanche are loaded with talent and while containing MacKinnon is a handful, handling the rest of the Colorado squad is an extremely difficult task. Defenseman and perennial Norris Trophy candidate Cale Makar has racked up 34 points (7g, 27a), Mikko Rantanen has recorded 31 points (12g, 19a) and leads the club in goals, and Valeri Nichushkin has posted 21 points (10g, 11a) and is tied with MacKinnon in goals.
Winning a contest on the road tonight against a team that’s just two years removed from a Stanley Cup championship with plenty of depth would do wonders for the culture the Flyers are continuing to build.
PHI Record: 14-10-2, 30 pts, 2nd in Metropolitan
COL Record: 16-8-2, 34 pts, 1st in Central
When: 9:00pm ET
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Broadcast Info: NBC Sports Philadelphia, 97.5 The Fanatic
Last Game PHI: 12/7/23, 4-1 W at Arizona
Last Game COL: 12/7/23, 4-2 L vs. Winnipeg
PHI Goalie: Carter Hart (7-6-1, .913 SV%, 2.55 GAA, 1 SO)
COL Goalie: Ivan Prosvetov (2-1-1, .919 SV%, 2.45 GAA, 0 SO)
PHI Projected Lineup
#71 Tyson Foerster – #14 Sean Couturier – #11 Travis Konecny
#86 Joel Farabee – #21 Scott Laughton – #89 Cam Atkinson
#74 Owen Tippett – #48 Morgan Frost – #10 Bobby Brink
#44 Nicolas Deslauriers – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#24 Nick Seeler – #26 Sean Walker
#5 Egor Zamula – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#18 Marc Staal
#79 Carter Hart
#33 Samuel Ersson
Scratches: #37 Louie Belpedio, #62 Olle Lycksell
Injuries: #25 Ryan Poehling, #27 Noah Cates
COL Projected Lineup
#27 Jonathan Drouin – #29 Nathan MacKinnon – #96 Mikko Rantanen
#13 Valeri Nichushkin – #12 Ryan Johansen – #90 Tomáš Tatar
#28 Miles Wood – #20 Ross Colton – #25 Logan O’Connor
#56 Kurtis MacDermid – #11 Andrew Cogliano – #94 Joel Kiviranta
#7 Devon Toews – #8 Cale Makar
#4 Bowen Byram – #42 Josh Manson
#3 Jack Johnson – #70 Sam Malinski
#50 Ivan Prosvetov
#40 Alexandar Georgiev
Scratches: #25 Frederik Olofsson, #49 Samuel Girard, #82 Caleb Jones
Injuries: #62 Artturi Lehkonen
News and Notes
– Philadelphia is 43-31-14-6 all time against Colorado and 14-17-4-6 against them since the franchise moved to Denver in 1995.
– Ryan Poehling is still out with an illness and the Flyers will roll with seven defensemen tonight. Olle Lycksell will serve as a healthy scratch after making his season debut on Thursday.
– Travis Konecny has recorded 6 points in his last 5 games and 4 points in his last 2 games. Tyson Foerster also has points in 4 of his last 5 games.
– Among Flyers players on the roster, Ryan Ellis technically leads the club in points against the Avalanche with 19 (7g, 12a) in 26 games. Among healthy players, Cam Atkinson leads the team in goals (9) and points (13) against Colorado.
– Carter Hart is just 1-2-0 with an .891 SV% and 4.07 GAA against the Avalanche in his career.
– The Flyers have not won in Denver since March 28th, 2018. They won that game 2-1 behind goals from Claude Giroux and Ivan Provorov and 27 combined saves from Petr Mrázek and Michal Neuvirth.
Union Forge Vodka proudly serves as the Official Vodka of Flyers Nation. This partnership celebrates the unyielding spirit of Flyers fans and offers a quality spirit that perfectly compliments the team’s essence. Whether celebrating victories or showing resilience, Union Forge Vodka embodies the winning spirit of both the Flyers and their dedicated fans. Stay connected with exciting giveaways by following @unionforge and @flyersnation across all social media platforms.
