Flyers-Avalanche: Game 9 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

In the second game of the season, the Flyers were locked in a tight contest with the Colorado Avalanche before a late power-play goal essentially sealed the result in Colorado's favor.

The Flyers get a chance at a win in a rematch on Monday night, hosting the Avalanche to close out the season series.

Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Colorado Avalanche GP G A P
Claude Giroux 8 3 8 11 Nathan MacKinnon 8 8 6 14
Jake Voracek 8 3 8 11 Mikko Rantanen 8 2 12 14
Wayne Simmonds 8 6 1 7 Gabriel Landeskog 8 7 3 10
Scott Laughton 8 4 1 5 Alexander Kerfoot 8 1 5 6
Travis Konecny 8 2 3 5 Carl Soderberg 8 3 2 5
 
Player to Watch
17 Wayne Simmonds 92 Gabriel Landeskog
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 0 A, 3 P, -3 Last 5 Games: 6 G, 2 A, 8 P, +8
 
Wayne Simmonds scored an empty-net goal on Saturday after striking for two goals on Tuesday. He leads the team with six goals so far. The team talked about getting traffic in front of the net and with that being Simmonds' office, keep an eye on him to make an impact.
 
Gabriel Landeskog has eight points in the last five games, but all six goals in that time have come in the last three games, giving him the hot hand entering the game. It's really a pick-em of sorts between Landeskog and linemates Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon. All three have been lighting it up since the start of the season.
 
Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott 1 Semyon Varlamov
2-3-0, 3.68 GAA, .878 SV% 3-0-0, 1.77 GAA, .948 SV%

Brian Elliott returns between the pipes for the Flyers after stopping 19 of 21 shots in a win on Saturday, just his second of the season. The numbers still aren't pretty for Elliott, but a win like that was a step in the right direction as he makes another start against Colorado.

Semyon Varlamov goes back in net for the Avalanche on Monday night. Varlamov had a strong performance against the Flyers on Oct. 6, making 35 saves in a win. Varlamov has a 4-2-1 record and 2.86 GAA in eight career games against the Flyers.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: James van Riemsdyk, Michal Neuvirth

Scratches: Mikhail Vorobyev, Corban Knight, Andrew MacDonald

Left Wing Center Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux 14 Sean Couturier 17 Wayne Simmonds
23 Oskar Lindblom 40 Jordan Weal 11 Travis Konecny
21 Scott Laughton 19 Nolan Patrick 93 Jake Voracek
12 Michael Raffl 15 Jori Lehtera 22 Dale Weise
Defense    
9 Ivan Provorov 53 Shayne Gostisbehere  
8 Robert Hagg 26 Christian Folin  
6 Travis Sanheim 3 Radko Gudas  
Goalie    
37 Brian Elliott    

Lineup Notes

No changes to the Flyers lineup in the morning skate. The team will run the same lines as Saturday's win over New Jersey.

Avalanche Projected Lineup

Injuries: J.T. Compher

Scratches: Vladislav Kamenev, Mark Barberio, Conor Timmins

Left Wing Center Right Wing
92 Gabriel Landeskog 29 Nathan MacKinnon 96 Mikko Rantanen
10 Sven Andrighetto 13 Alexander Kerfoot 22 Colin Wilson
83 Matt Nieto 34 Carl Soderberg 11 Matt Calvert
56 Marko Dano 17 Tyson Jost 57 Gabriel Bourque
Defense    
49 Samuel Girard 6 Erik Johnson  
28 Ian Cole 4 Tyson Barrie  
16 Nikita Zadorov 12 Patrik Nemeth  
Goalie    
1 Semyon Varlamov    

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (18th, T-13th at home), Avalanche (11th, 8th on road)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (29th, 29th at home), Avalanche (3rd, 5th on road) 
  • Recent History vs. Avalanche
    • Nov. 4, 2017 – Avalanche 5, Flyers 4 F/SO (at PHI)
    • March 28, 2018 – Flyers 2, Avalanche 1 (at COL)
    • Oct. 5, 2018 – Avalanche 5, Flyers 2 (at COL)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Avalanche
    • Claude Giroux – 13 GP, 8 G, 5 A, 13 P
    • Jordan Weal – 3 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
    • Jake Voracek – 24 GP, 6 G, 11 A, 17 P
    • Brian Elliott – 14 GP, 9-3-2, 2.24 GAA, .907 SV%
  • Milestone Watch
    • Claude Giroux passes Joe Watson for 5th all-time in games played in Flyers history.

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

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