The Flyers enter Monday night as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. They will put that to the test against the Colorado Avalanche.
After their win against the Sabres, the Flyers moved their win streak to three games. They have points in five straight and have captured at least one point in eight of their last 11 games. Colorado has four wins in their last five games. They are also getting key players back in the lineup.
Colorado has won seven of the last 10 meetings between the two teams and has an overall record of 24-13-6.
Erik Johnson, who played 12+ seasons with the Avalanche, will be honored before the game for reaching 1,000 games. Doing it against the team he won a Stanley Cup with is sure to be a special moment for the veteran defenseman.
Philadelphia Flyers
Injuries have begun to pile up for the Flyers. Already down Cam York and Jamie Drysdale on the back end, Emil Andrae is now sidelined with what the team has called a "mid-body" injury. There is no word on how long, though he was not placed on IR. Sam Ersson was placed on IR, meaning he will miss at least the next week of action.
Helge Grans will make his NHL debut as the next man up on defense. He has played well in his second season with the Phantoms and has a chance to show the Flyers what he has learned. There shouldn't be a ton expected of him in his first career game, but it will be nice to get a closer look at him at a higher level.
Aleksei Kolosov will make his first start since Nov. 5 as he searches for his first NHL win. Kolosov has shown athleticism in the net and doesn't get bothered by goals. Having a goaltender with the ability to put everything behind him and not cause a meltdown is important. So far, Kolosov has posted a 3.92 GAA and a .863 SV%. He's coming off a five-goal outing against Carolina, though it was not all his fault.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Owen Tippett - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee - Scott Laughton - Bobby Brink
Anthony Richard - Noah Cates - Matvei Michkov
Tyson Foerster - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway
Travis Sanheim - Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler - Erik Johnson
Egor Zamula - Helge Grans
Aleksei Kolosov
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche recently had a three-game winning streak of their own ended. They dropped a 5-2 decision to the Capitals in their last outing. Tonight's game marks the start of a four-game road trip. They've won three of their last five games away from home, though they have lost four of their last seven. And they recently welcomed Val Nichushkin back into the lineup after his six-month suspension.
Nathan MacKinnon leads the league, and his team, in points (33). Mikko Rantanen is tied for fourth in the league with 12 goals. That total is first on the Avalanche. His 25 points tie him for second on the team with Cale Makar. Speaking of Makar, he had a 13-game point streak to begin the season. But now, he's gone pointless in three of his last five games.
With Alexandar Georgiev on IR, Justus Annunen is the expected starter for the Avalanche. He has had a rather decent start to the season. In nine games, he has five wins, a 2.92 GAA and a .881 SV%.
Avalanche Projected Roster
Artturi Lehkonen - Nathan MacKinnon - Jonathan Drouin
Valeri Nichushkin - Casey Mittelstadt - Mikko Rantanen
Joel Kiviranta - Ivan Ivan - Logan O’Connor
Miles Wood - Parker Kelly - Nikolai Kovalenko
Devon Toews - Cale Makar
Samuel Girard - Josh Manson
Oliver Kylington - Sam Malinski
Justus Annunen
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBCSP+, NHLN
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
Live Stream: FuboTv
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