Flyers-Avalanche Preview: Road Rematch

Eight days ago, the defending champion Colorado Avalanche came into Philadelphia an already-battered bunch. Their top forward quickly joined the injured list that night and the Flyers used special teams to find a way to a rare win on this 2022-23 season.

In the days since, the Flyers have lost three straight, including a pair in overtime to start a four-game road trip. The trip shifts to Colorado, where the Avalanche now have a few players back in the lineup from last week's defeat in Philadelphia.

Game time is 9 p.m.

Team Leaders

Morgan Frost nearly doubled his points total on the season in the last game on Sunday night, picking up a goal and three assists. Frost has five points in the last four games, marking half of his season total.

Mikko Rantanen scored a goal late in last Monday's game in Philadelphia, and that started a goal scoring spree. He scored another goal against the Rangers on Friday night and picked up a hat trick in Sunday's win over the Blues.

Felix Sandstrom gets his first start since Nov. 26. Sandstrom took the loss that night, stopping 18 of 23 shots against the Islanders. This is just his fourth start since Nov. 13.

Pavel Francouz will get the start for the Avalanche. Francouz was in goal on Sunday for the win against the Blues, making 30 saves on 32 shots. That snapped a personal two-game losing streak for Francouz, who had picked up his first two games of the season in the prior two games.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Sean Couturier (injury), Cam Atkinson (injury), Wade Allison (injury), Tanner Laczynski (injury), Tony DeAngelo (personal), Max Willman (healthy)

Avalanche Scratches: Gabriel Landeskog (injury), Darren Helm (injury), Bowen Byram (injury), Shane Bowers (injury), Kurtis MacDermid (injury), Evan Rodrigues (injury), Nathan MacKinnon (injury), Josh Manson (injury)

Lineup Notes

• Flyers: No changes are expected to the Flyers lineup.
• Avalanche: No lineup changes are anticipated for the Avalanche.

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (28th), Avalanche (2nd)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (23rd), Avalanche (21st)
• Recent History vs. Avalanche
  • Dec. 5, 2022 - Flyers 5, Avalanche 3 (at PHI)
• Flyers Leaders vs. Avalanche
  • James van Riemsdyk: 18 GP, 7 G, 7 A, 14 P
  • Kevin Hayes: 14 GP, 6 G, 11 A, 17 P
  • Zack MacEwen: 4 GP, 3 G, 1 A, 4 P
  • Joel Farabee: 4 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 P

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia 
Radio: Flyers Broadcast Network

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN and Flyers editor for SportsTalkPhilly.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.