Avalanche Hold On as Flyers Dealt 4th Straight Loss
Following a second period that was heavily one-sided, the Flyers were making their push for the game-tying goal in the third. That's when one shift went against them and resulted in another goal against that essentially put the game out of reach.
That didn't stop the Flyers, who despite the results are looking to hang their hat on effort. Another late push wasn't enough on the scoreboard, as the Colorado Avalanche claimed a 3-2 result and handed the Flyers their fourth straight loss and 16th in their last 18 games on Tuesday night.
The Flyers got on the board first at 12:52 of the first period. Cam York made a move at the blue line and moved in on goal. His shot was nullified but went toward the crease, where it pinballed back to him, allowing him to score on the rebound for his first goal of the season.
Through 20 minutes, shots were 10-8 Colorado.
The Avalanche dominated the second period, leading in shots, 9-4, for the period. They also had the first seven shots of the period, finishing that stretch off with the tying goal. Off the rush, J.T. Compher set up Devon Toews, who cut in on goal and scored to make it 1-1 at 9:25.
After a brief stretch of four-on-four play, the Flyers had their first power play, abbreviated to 1:22. With under 30 seconds left on the man-advantage, Erik Johnson got the puck out of the offensive zone and it bounced back toward the center of the ice, creating a footrace. Artturi Lehkonen beat York to the puck and moved in on a breakaway, beating Felix Sandstrom through the five-hole to make it 2-1 Colorado with 4:56 left in the period.
Through two periods, the Avalanche had a 19-12 lead in shots.
For the first half of the third period, the Flyers were pushing play and generating chances. At 11:33, a scoring chance for the Avalanche resulted in a goal to extend the margin to two.
Lehkonen got the puck in the corner and made a nice centering pass to Compher for the goal, making it 3-1 with 8:27 remaining.
The Flyers pulled the goalie with over four minutes remaining and got back to within one quickly. With 3:38 remaining, Travis Konecny fired through a screen and it was deflected by James van Riemsdyk to make it 3-2.
The Flyers had more scoring chances in the final two minutes with the goalie pulled, but could not solve Pavel Francouz for the equalizer.
Francouz finished with 26 saves on 28 shots in the win. Sandstrom made 22 saves on 25 shots in the loss.
Compher and Lehkonen each finished with two points.
The Flyers get back on the ice on Thursday night to close out the four-game road trip against the New Jersey Devils at 7 p.m.
Box Score | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
Flyers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Avalanche | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- PHI Cam York (1) (Unassisted) 12:52
2nd Period
- COL Devon Toews (2) (J.T. Compher, Logan O'Connor) 9:25
- COL Artturi Lehkonen (8) SH (Erik Johnson) 15:04
3rd Period
- COL Compher (4) (Lehkonen) 11:33
- PHI James van Riemsdyk (4) (Travis Konecny, Kevin Hayes) 16:22
Game Statistics | Flyers | Avalanche |
Shots | 28 | 25 |
Power Play | 0/2 | 0/3 |
Hits | 29 | 20 |
Faceoff % | 50.0% | 50.0% |
Giveaways | 0 | 5 |
Takeaways | 5 | 12 |
Blocked Shots | 20 | 10 |
Penalty Minutes | 6 | 4 |
Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN and Flyers editor for SportsTalkPhilly.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
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