Flyers-Avalanche: Game 2 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

After an impressive opening night win in Vegas, the Flyers are back to take on the Colorado Avalanche in the second game of the season.

Both teams opened the season with wins on Thursday after having similar paths to the playoffs a season ago. It also closes out a two-game stretch in the West to open the season for the Flyers on the road.

Game time is set for 9 p.m.

Team Leaders (2017-18)

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Colorado Avalanche GP G A P
Wayne Simmonds 1 2 0 2 Carl Soderberg 1 1 1 2
Robert Hagg 1 1 1 2 Mikko Rantanen 1 1 1 2
Jake Voracek 1 0 2 2 Nathan MacKinnon 1 1 0 1
Scott Laughton 1 1 0 1 J.T. Compher 1 1 0 1
Oskar Lindblom 1 1 0 1 Patrik Nemeth 1 0 1 1
 
Player to Watch
17 Wayne Simmonds 29 Nathan MacKinnon
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 0 A, 2 P, +2 Last 5 Games: 1 G, 0 A, 1 P, +1
 
Wayne Simmonds opened the season with two goals, but more importantly looked like a healthy player ready to put last season behind him. Look for him to be active on the power play again.
 
One of the Hart Trophy finalists from last year, you can never take your eyes of Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon scored a goal in the season opener for Colorado and had 97 points last season.
 
Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott 1 Semyon Varlamov
1-0-0, 2.03 GAA, .920 SV% 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .952 SV%

If not for Brian Elliott, the Flyers may not have survived the first-period onslaught that Vegas threw at them. Elliott was excellent in his first game of the season and gets another start on Saturday.

The Avalanche got a strong performance in goal from Semyon Varlamov and have chosen to keep the lineup the same for Saturday's game. Varlamov has a 3-2-1 and a 3.00 GAA in seven career starts against the Flyers.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michal Neuvirth, Corban Knight, Alex Lyon

Scratches: Jordan Weal, Dale Weise, Radko Gudas

Left Wing Center Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux 14 Sean Couturier 11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom 19 Nolan Patrick 93 Jake Voracek
25 James van Riemsdyk 24 Mikhail Vorobyev 17 Wayne Simmonds
21 Scott Laughton 15 Jori Lehtera 12 Michael Raffl
Defense    
9 Ivan Provorov 53 Shayne Gostisbehere  
6 Travis Sanheim 26 Christian Folin  
8 Robert Hagg 47 Andrew MacDonald  
Goalie    
37 Brian Elliott    

Lineup Notes

The Flyers will swap out defensemen as Christian Folin makes his Flyers debut and Radko Gudas sits as a healthy scratch. Anthony Stolarz cleared waivers and was sent back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, meaning Calvin Pickard will serve as backup.

Avalanche Projected Lineup

Injuries: Sven Andrighetto, Patrik Nemeth

Scratches: Conor Timmins

Left Wing Center Right Wing
92 Gabriel Landeskog 29 Nathan MacKinnon 96 Mikko Rantanen
13 Alexander Kerfoot 17 Tyson Jost 22 Colin Wilson
83 Matt Nieto 34 Carl Soderberg 57 Gabriel Bourque
15 Sheldon Dries 37 J.T. Compher 11 Matt Calvert
Defense    
49 Samuel Girard 6 Erik Johnson  
28 Ian Cole 4 Tyson Barrie  
16 Nikita Zadorov 44 Mark Barberio  
Goalie    
1 Semyon Varlamov    

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (T-11th, T-5th on road), Avalanche (T-4th, T-2nd at home)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-1st, T-1st on road), Avalanche (T-1st, T-1st at home) 
  • Recent History vs. Avalanche
    • Nov. 4, 2017 – Avalanche 5, Flyers 4 F/SO (at PHI)
    • March 28, 2018 – Flyers 2, Avalanche 1 (at COL)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Avalanche
    • Claude Giroux – 12 GP, 8 G, 4 A, 12 P
    • James van Riemsdyk – 13 GP, 6 G, 6 A, 12 P
    • Shayne Gostisbehere – 5 GP, 0 G, 4 A, 4 P
    • Brian Elliott – 13 GP, 9-2-2, 2.10 GAA, .910 SV%
  • Milestone Watch
    • Sean Couturier is playing in his 500th NHL game. 

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Go to top button