Flyers-Avalanche: Game 31 Preview
The Flyers got a win in a chippy game on Saturday afternoon against the Senators, but it came at a cost. As the Flyers embark on a three-game road trip, they will do so without their leading scorer.
Travis Konecny will be out for at least the next three games due to a concussion. That leaves the rest of the Flyers with a tough task on the road against three challenging Western Conference opponents. It starts with the Colorado Avalanche, who are challenging for the best record in the Western Conference.
Game time is at 9:30 p.m.
Team Leaders
| Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | Colorado Avalanche | GP | G | A | P |
| Travis Konecny | 30 | 11 | 17 | 28 | Nathan MacKinnon | 30 | 19 | 28 | 47 |
| Sean Couturier | 30 | 8 | 14 | 22 | Cale Makar | 29 | 8 | 20 | 28 |
| Jake Voracek | 30 | 6 | 15 | 21 | Joonas Donskoi | 30 | 13 | 14 | 27 |
| Claude Giroux | 30 | 9 | 12 | 21 | Andre Burakovsky | 27 | 12 | 11 | 23 |
| Ivan Provorov | 30 | 7 | 12 | 19 | Nazem Kadri | 27 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 18 Tyler Pitlick | 29 Nathan MacKinnon |
| Last 5 Games: 0 G, 2 A, 2 P, +2 | Last 5 Games: 3 G, 5 A, 8 P, +2 |
| Projected Goalie Matchup | |
| 79 Carter Hart | 39 Pavel Francouz |
| 19 GP, 10-5-3, 2.39 GAA, .909 SV% | 12 GP, 7-2-1, 2.50 GAA, .923 SV% |
Carter Hart allowed three goals in Saturday's game, but made 27 saves in another win, his 10th of the season. That makes four straight victories for Hart, who gets back in goal on Wednesday to face the Avalanche.
Pavel Francouz has assumed the number one netminder role already in the wake of an injury to Philipp Grubauer in November. Grubauer left Saturday's game with an injury in the first period, so Francouz filled in for the remainder of Saturday's win -- stopping all 16 shots faced -- and took the loss on Monday night against Calgary in overtime. With Grubauer's status still up in the air, he likely gets another start on Wednesday night.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Oskar Lindblom, Travis Konecny, Phil Myers, Michael Raffl, Nolan Patrick
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 28 Claude Giroux | 14 Sean Couturier | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 21 Scott Laughton | 13 Kevin Hayes | 49 Joel Farabee |
| 25 James van Riemsdyk | 48 Morgan Frost | 18 Tyler Pitlick |
| 72 David Kase | 24 Mikhail Vorobyev | 44 Chris Stewart |
| Defense | ||
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 15 Matt Niskanen | |
| 6 Travis Sanheim | 61 Justin Braun | |
| 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 8 Robert Hagg | |
| Goalie | ||
| 79 Carter Hart | 37 Brian Elliott |
Lineup Notes
The Flyers are dealing with some injuries that force changes to the lineup. Konecny is out indefinitely and both Phil Myers and Oskar Lindblom will not play due to injury. Chris Stewart and Robert Hagg come back into the lineup and David Kase was also called up from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and will make his NHL debut.
Avalanche Projected Lineup
Injuries: Colin Wilson, Erik Johnson, Cale Makar, Philipp Grubauer
Scratches: Vladislav Kamenev
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 92 Gabriel Landeskog | 29 Nathan MacKinnon | 96 Mikko Rantanen |
| 72 Joonas Donskoi | 91 Nazem Kadri | 95 Andre Burakovsky |
| 11 Matt Calvert | 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 13 Valeri Nichushkin |
| 83 Matt Nieto | 37 JT Compher | 17 Tyson Jost |
| Defense | ||
| 16 Nikita Zadorov | 49 Samuel Girard | |
| 27 Ryan Graves | 28 Ian Cole | |
| 48 Calle Rosen | 44 Mark Barberio | |
| Goalie | ||
| 39 Pavel Francouz | 30 Adam Werner |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (19th), Avalanche (16th)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-5th), Avalanche (21st)
- Recent History vs. Avalanche
- Oct. 6, 2018 - Avalanche 5, Flyers 2 (at COL)
- Oct. 22, 2018 - Avalanche 4, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
- Flyers Leaders vs. Avalanche
- Kevin Hayes - 9 GP, 4 G, 5 A, 9 P
- Claude Giroux - 14 GP, 8 G, 5 A, 13 P
- James van Riemsdyk - 14 GP, 6 G, 6 A, 12 P
- Jake Voracek - 25 GP, 6 G, 12 A, 18 P
Where to Watch
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
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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