By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor
The start to the Flyers playoff push began on Friday night in Pittsburgh and a two-goal rally and dominant third period allowed the Flyers to come away with one point in the standings. An early turnover in overtime never allowed them the chance to sniff the offensive zone.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Flyers, as it is going to be for most of the final 31 games in the regular season, and the Orange and Black get yet another challenge against a Top-10 team in the league. The Colorado Avalanche await as the Flyers make their return home.
Game time is 7 p.m.
Team Leaders
Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | Colorado Avalanche | GP | G | A | P |
Sean Couturier | 51 | 13 | 30 | 43 | Nathan MacKinnon | 49 | 30 | 42 | 72 |
Travis Konecny | 48 | 17 | 26 | 43 | Cale Makar | 41 | 11 | 26 | 37 |
Jake Voracek | 51 | 11 | 28 | 39 | Mikko Rantanen | 33 | 15 | 19 | 34 |
Claude Giroux | 51 | 13 | 22 | 35 | Andre Burakovsky | 46 | 15 | 18 | 33 |
James van Riemsdyk | 51 | 14 | 15 | 29 | Nazem Kadri | 46 | 17 | 14 | 31 |
Player to Watch | |
14 Sean Couturier | 29 Nathan MacKinnon |
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 4 A, 4 P, E | Last 5 Games: 4 G, 3 A, 7 P, +4 |
Projected Goalie Matchup | |
34 Alex Lyon | 31 Philipp Grubauer |
1 GP, 0-1-0, 4.00 GAA, .900 SV% | 29 GP, 14-10-4, 2.82 GAA, .910 SV% |
Alex Lyon gets his second start of the season, filling in for the injured Carter Hart, on Saturday against the Avalanche. Lyon made 36 saves on 40 shots against the Canadiens in a loss on Jan. 16.
Philipp Grubauer gets the start for the Avalanche on Saturday in their return from the break. Grubauer won his final two starts before the break, including a 27-save shutout against San Jose.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Carter Hart (lower right abdominal, out at least seven days), Shayne Gostisbehere (knee, day-to-day), Nolan Patrick (migrane disorder, out indefinitely), Oskar Lindblom (Ewing's sarcoma, out for season)
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
25 James van Riemsdyk | 28 Claude Giroux | 11 Travis Konecny |
49 Joel Farabee | 14 Sean Couturier | 93 Jake Voracek |
21 Scott Laughton | 13 Kevin Hayes | 18 Tyler Pitlick |
12 Michael Raffl | 82 Connor Bunnaman | 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel |
Defense | ||
9 Ivan Provorov | 15 Matt Niskanen | |
6 Travis Sanheim | 5 Phil Myers | |
8 Robert Hagg | 61 Justin Braun | |
Goalie | ||
34 Alex Lyon | 37 Brian Elliott |
Lineup Notes
The Flyers will not make any changes to the group of players in the lineup. Shayne Gostisbehere remains out for Saturday's game as he nears a return from a knee injury. The Flyers will switch line combinations at the start of the game for Saturday to match what was used in the third period in Pittsburgh on Friday.
Avalanche Projected Lineup
Injuries: Colin Wilson
Scratches: Mark Barberio
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
92 Gabriel Landeskog | 29 Nathan MacKinnon | 96 Mikko Rantanen |
13 Valeri Nichushkin | 91 Nazem Kadri | 95 Andre Burakovsky |
11 Matt Calvert | 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 37 JT Compher |
83 Matt Nieto | 17 Tyson Jost | 72 Joonas Donskoi |
Defense | ||
27 Ryan Graves | 8 Cale Makar | |
49 Samuel Girard | 6 Erik Johnson | |
28 Ian Cole | 16 Nikita Zadorov | |
Goalie | ||
31 Philipp Grubauer | 39 Pavel Francouz |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (T-16th), Avalanche (22nd)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-13th), Avalanche (T-20th)
- Recent History vs. Avalanche
- Oct. 6, 2018 – Avalanche 5, Flyers 2 (at COL)
- Oct. 22, 2018 – Avalanche 4, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
- Dec. 11, 2019 – Avalanche 3, Flyers 1 (at COL)
- Milestone Watch
- Claude Giroux needs three points to reach 800 for his career.
Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia+
Radio: 93.3 WMMR