Flyers at Avalanche
After putting their best foot forward in the first of three games without their two leading scorers, the Colorado Avalanche look to continue their surge toward the postseason on Thursday when they host the Philadelphia Flyers. With Matt Duchene (team-leading 29 goals, 56 points) and Nathan MacKinnon (52 points) sidelined by knee injuries, returning captain Gabriel Landeskog picked up the slack with a goal and an assist to pace Colorado to a 3-2 victory over Edmonton on Sunday.
The Avalanche's third straight win and fifth in six outings temporarily put the club one point ahead of Minnesota in the race for the final wild-card slot in the Western Conference before the Wild regained that spot with a 2-1 triumph over Los Angeles two nights later. Although Colorado hosts Minnesota on Saturday, it will have to contend with a surging Philadelphia club that is looking to rebound after squandering a late two-goal lead en route to a 3-2 shootout loss to lowly Columbus on Tuesday. Captain Claude Giroux has tallied in back-to-back contests for the Flyers, who are 9-2-2 in their last 13 contests to pull even in points with Detroit with a game in hand for the final wild-card spot in the East. Giroux has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in his last 14 contests, but the 28-year-old and Philadelphia came up empty and fell to Colorado for the first time in five encounters with a 4-0 setback on Nov. 10.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (35-24-13): Steve Mason wasn't interested in talking about any one of his career-best 51 saves versus his former team, rather the missed opportunity his club experienced following the heartbreaking loss on Tuesday. "We gave away the extra point there. It's real disappointing we didn't have it," the 27-year-old Mason told CSNPhilly.com despite denying four of five attempts in the shootout. Mason has turned aside 74 of 77 shots in the team's first two contests of a four-game road trip since being named the unquestioned starter in the wake of Michal Neuvirth being ruled out for the rest of the regular season due to an undisclosed lower-body injury.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (38-31-4): Semyon Varlamov is playing his best hockey of late as he posted a 4-1-0 mark with a 1.59 goals-against average in his last five outings. Coach Patrick Roy told the team's website that the 27-year-old Russian will start against both the Flyers and Wild while his team's lines would remain the same on Thursday. Defenseman Tyson Barrie set up a goal in the first meeting with Philadelphia and has tallied in back-to-back contests to conclude the Avalanche's four-game road trip.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia has won its last five games following a loss.
2. Avalanche veteran RW Jarome Iginla scored in the last meeting with the Flyers, extending his career point total to 22 (11 goals, 11 assists) in 23 meetings with the club.
3. Philadelphia has killed off all 15 short-handed situations over the last five contests.