The Colorado Avalanche slipped and lost their fourth game of their seven-game homestand. The Philadelphia Flyers flew into town, only winning three of their last ten games, so they were hungry for a victory. With the 2001 Stanley Cup team in the building, the Avs may have felt a little pressure to perform, but couldn’t put things together. The Avs move to a 20–2–4 record at home as they fall in regulation 7–3.

View from the Mountaintop

Parker Kelly is doing something special. He has two goals in the last three games to set a new career high of 10. The gritty forward has been finding loose pucks in front of the net and creating opportunities. He is also shooting a career-high 15.8 percent after his goal on Friday night. To add to it, the initial shot by Jack Ahcan set up Kelly for the rebound shot. The assist was Ahcan’s second NHL assist and a typical play that fans would see him do with the Colorado Eagles. Every game that passes, Ahcan has looked like he has gotten more and more comfortable at the NHL level.

Defense struggles with puck control near the net recently. Former Denver Pioneer Bobby Brink picked up a loose puck in front of the net and finished the job with hardly any pressure. Throughout the night, the Flyers had 12 high-danger chances to Colorado’s seven. Their first two high-danger chances in the third, the Flyers converted on.

Mackenzie Blackwood has been struggling lately. In his last two starts, he has allowed 11 goals and suffered two losses. To add to the pain of the loss on Friday, Blackwood allowed Colorado’s eighth shorthanded goal of the year. The goal puts the Avalanche in a tie for the most shorthanded goals allowed in the NHL (tied with New York Rangers). The goal was also the hat-trick goal for Owen Tippet to take a 6–3 lead for the Flyers. To compare Scott Wedgewood in his last two starts, he has allowed three goals with an overtime loss and a win.

Up Next

The Avalanche will start a four-game road trip as they head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. MT. Altitude Sports and NHL Network will broadcast the game.