A sluggish first-period effort looked like it had all the makings of the Flyers running out of gas, but they were able to play strongly over the next 40 minutes and shake off their Pepsi Center demons in a 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
Two goals just 19 seconds apart from Radko Gudas and Claude Giroux with under six minutes to play in the third period helped lift the Flyers (35-24-13) to the win in the third game of their their four-game road trip. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare opened the scoring for the Orange and Black, while Ryan White tallied the final goal on the empty net.
With a 41-save performance (his fifth 40-plus save game of the season), Semyon Varlamov carried the bulk of the weight for the Avalanche (38-31-4), who were without their two top scorers in Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon. Nick Holden and John Mitchell scored for the Avs, with the latter scoring his second goal in 39 games.
Steve Mason made 32 saves on 34 shots for the Orange and Black, but appeared to be nursing an injury in the game's final seconds. Both teams were scoreless on a combined three power plays — with the Flyers missing out on two and the Avalanche failing to capitalize on their only man-advantage of the game.
The win was the Flyers' first at Pepsi Center since Dec. 27, 2002. For perspective, Eric Desjardins and Jeremy Roenick each recorded two points – with Desjardins netting the overtime-winner — while Roman Cechmanek turned away 34 shots.
The Flyers showed signs of fatigue in the first period, mustering just seven shots on goal. They countered back with a whopping 19 in the second period, and 18 in the third stanza. Evidently, Varlamov — who had been playing excellently up until the latter stretches of the third period — was overwhelmed, and ran out of steam.
With Detroit's 4-3 win over Montreal on Thursday, the Flyers were momentarily removed from the playoff picture, but their comeback win restores their playoff spot.
The Flyers' road trip concludes on Saturday, with a visit to the Arizona Coyotes. They will have a chance to gain ground, as the Red Wings host Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
