Flyers shock NHL-best Avalanche, handing them their second regulation home loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Talk about a signature win.
The Flyers sure delivered one Friday night with a 7-3 stunner over the juggernaut Avalanche at Ball Arena.
Owen Tippett led the Flyers’ charge with a hat trick. His second goal snapped a 3-3 tie just 56 seconds into the third period before Matvei Michkov added insurance only 1:04 minutes later.
Tippett then punctuated his night on a shorthanded breakaway. Michkov sealed the game with an empty-netter.
The Flyers took the final stanza, 4-0, from a Colorado team that entered with an NHL-best plus-37 goal differential in the third period.
Denver Barkey and Bobby Brink also found the back of the net for the Flyers.
Samuel Ersson had a commendable effort in net.
The Flyers (24-17-9) went 2-0-1 on their road trip against teams all in Western Conference playoff position. If they didn’t have a collapse against the Mammoth two nights ago, they would have swept the trip.
Rick Tocchet’s club handed the league-leading Avalanche (34-6-9) just their second regulation loss on home ice. Colorado dropped to 20-2-4 at Ball Arena.
Before this loss, the Avalanche were 19-2 in games decided by three or more goals.
• Ersson denied 32 of 35 shots.
The 26-year-old was making his third consecutive start and sixth straight appearance. The Flyers didn’t help him early with a couple of penalties in the game’s opening five minutes. Ersson was outstanding, though, converting 17 first-period saves.
The Flyers took a surprising 2-0 lead into first intermission. But Colorado turned it on like it typically does, making it a 3-3 game 12:12 minutes into the second period.
Parker Kelly put the Avalanche on the board after Christian Dvorak committed a turnover that kept Colorado in the offensive zone. Victor Olofsson tied it up at 2-2 off a great pass from Nathan MacKinnon.
Brink responded 32 seconds later to regain the Flyers’ lead, but Cale Makar quickly countered for the Avalanche.
Colorado netminder Mackenzie Blackwood stopped just 13 of the Flyers’ 19 shots.
• Tippett now has a team-leading two shorthanded goals after coming into the season with none in his career.
Last season, it was really intriguing early on when the Flyers tried Tippett on the penalty kill. They didn’t continue with it, but he’s starting to show why he can be a threat at shorthanded.
His power and speed can put pressure on the opposing power play. Tippett played 2:24 minutes on the penalty kill against the Avalanche. We’ll see if the Flyers keep giving him the opportunities.
• For a fourth straight game, the Flyers scored first. Tippett promptly regathered the puck and fired again after having his initial shot blocked, putting the Flyers ahead with a little under five minutes left in the opening frame.
Not even four minutes later, Barkey made it 2-0 with a power play goal off a feed from Michkov.
Michkov was very good, finishing with his first three-point game of the season.
• Dan Vladar missed a fifth straight game. He has been considered day to day with a lower-body injury. The Flyers’ next game against the Islanders feels like a possibility for his return.
• The Flyers come home for a matchup Monday against New York (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).