Midway through the third period, it was shaping up to simply not be the Flyers night. Two quick goals suddenly made it a game again.
The Flyers spent the final eight minutes of play in rally mode, cutting the Colorado lead to one and searching for the equalizer. In the end, the Avalanche ended the Flyers three-game winning streak and five-game points streak in a 3-2 defeat on Monday night at Wells Fargo Center.
The Avalanche controlled the play in the first period, while the Flyers had some chances in short bursts. Neither team scored in the opening 20 minutes. Shots were 10-8 Colorado.
At 8:30 of the second, the Avalanche finally broke the ice. Nathan MacKinnon set up Cale Makar in the slot for his seventh goal of the season to make it 1-0.
Makar appeared to score again at 10:44, but the goal call was reversed after a challenge for goalie interference.
Makar got his second goal of the game anyway at 15:08. On a power play, Makar’s shot deflected off two Flyers on the way to Aleksei Kolosov before leaking through to make it 2-0.
Through two periods, shots were 19-13 Colorado.
The Flyers had an opportunity to get back into the game with a four-minute power play, but a pair of penalties not only erased the man-advantage, but gave Colorado a 4-on-3 power play. Just as the power play ended, the Avalanche extended the lead with Casey Mittelstadt putting home a rebound for his seventh goal of the season.
Just when it appeared the game was out of reach for the Flyers, two quick goals made it a one-goal game. First, Owen Tippett scored off a face-off for his fourth goal of the season to make it 3-1 with 8:12 remaining. Then a shot by Helge Grans sat underneath Justus Annunen, and Tyson Foerster was able to find it for his fourth of the season to make it 3-2 with 6:28 to play.
The Flyers rally fell just short, as the Avalanche held on in the closing seconds with the Flyers looking for the equalizer.
Kolosov made 26 saves on 29 shots in the loss. Annunen made 24 saves on 26 shots in the win.
Makar, Mittelstadt, and Mikko Rantanen each had multi-point games.
The Flyers are back on the ice on Wednesday night to continue the homestand against the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m.
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
| Avalanche | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Flyers | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- No Scoring
2nd Period
- COL Cale Makar (7) (Nathan MacKinnon, Devon Toews) 8:30
- COL Makar (8) PP (Casey Mittelstadt, Mikko Rantanen) 15:08
3rd Period
- COL Mittelstadt (7) (Rantanen, Jonathan Drouin) 8:34
- PHI Owen Tippett (4) (Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim) 11:48
- PHI Tyson Foerster (4) (Bobby Brink) 13:32
Game Statistics
| Avalanche | Flyers | |
| Shots | 29 | 26 |
| Power Play | 1/4 | 0/3 |
| Hits | 13 | 21 |
| Faceoff % | 39.0% | 61.0% |
| Giveaways | 15 | 13 |
| Takeaways | 5 | 6 |
| Blocked Shots | 11 | 26 |
| Penalty Minutes | 10 | 12 |
