Flyers-Avalanche: Game 52 Preview

Kevin Durso

February 1 2020

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

Sean Couturier had a rough night in Pittsburgh, capped off by a turnover in overtime that eventually led to the game-winning goal. Back on home ice and once again having to face the some of the best offensive talents in the league, Couturier will have to be a central figure to the Flyers success.

Nathan MacKinnon entered the All-Star break with three goals in the previous two games. His 72 points on the season are tied for third in the NHL. Throw in his excellent speed and tremendous skill and he can change a game in an instant.

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.