Avalanche Begins Road Trip at Philadelphia

The Colorado Avalanche faces the Philadelphia Flyers in the first contest of a three-game road trip on Tuesday. It's the second of two meetings between the Avs and Flyers this season and the only one that will be played in the City of Brotherly Love.
Colorado is 2-2-1 in its last five games while the Flyers enter Tuesday's tilt in the thick of the playoff hunt. Despite having won three of their last 10 games, the Flyers still sit just six points behind Toronto for the Eastern Conference's second wild card spot.
The Avs are 16-8-6 all-time against the Flyers, including a 7-5-1 record as the road team in the overall series. Colorado won the last meeting in Philly, a 4-0 shutout on Nov. 10, 2015.

Last Time Out

Gabriel Landeskog scored twice and added an assist to lead the Avalanche to a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night at Pepsi Center. Jeremy Smith made 34 saves en route to his first NHL win and Blake Comeau (1-1-2), Nathan MacKinnon (0-2-2) and Matt Nieto (0-2-2) all contributed multipoint efforts.
The Flyers are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stadium Series at Heinz Field on Saturday. Philadelphia outshot the Penguins 38-29 and was 1-for-4 on the power play. Shayne Gostisbehere and Jakub Voracek each scored for the Flyers and Michal Neuvirth finished with 25 saves.

Last Time They Met

The Flyers visited the Mile High City on Dec. 14, winning the first matchup of the season series 4-3. The game was knotted at two after 40 minutes, but Philly scored two goals in the first 5:16 of the third stanza to take a 4-2 lead. Matt Duchene potted his second late in the frame, and the Avalanche outshot the Flyers 14-4 in the period but was unable to tally the equalizer.

What to Watch

Avs Against the East
Colorado is 8-14-1 against the Eastern Conference this season but has earned at least a point in its last three against opponents from the other conference, going 2-0-1 against Carolina, Tampa Bay and Buffalo.
Philadelphia Power Play
The Flyers' power play ranks 10 in the league and their 22 man-advantage goals on the season are tied for sixth. When Colorado and Philly last met in December, the Flyers power play was ranked second in the league at 24.1 percent. While their success rate has dropped slightly--they've converted at a 17.4 percent rate since then--the Flyers still boast three of the league's top point getters with the man advantage. Claude Giroux and Brayden Schenn are tied for third in the NHL with 24 points each--Schenn's 14 goals while on the man advantage lead the League--and Wayne Simmonds's 20 power-play points are tied for 10th.
Rantanen in February
Mikko Rantanen has tallied six goals and 10 points this month and is tied with MacKinnon for the third-most points by a rookie in the month of February in Avalanche history. With one game remaining before the calendar turns to March, the Avs rookie could surpass MacKinnon to take sole possession of third place. A goal would tie him with Landeskog, who tallied seven goals in February during his rookie campaign in 2011-12.
Rantanen's 10 points is also tied for his highest total of any month--he also recorded 10 points in November--but his six goals are a record for the rookie in any month this season.

Player to Watch

Colorado: Left wing Gabriel Landeskog
The Avalanche captain scored two goals and added an assist in Colorado's last game against the Sabres. Landeskog has totaled six points (one goal, five assists) in eight career contests against the Flyers, including an assist in the last meeting.
Philadelphia: Center Brayden Schenn
Schenn enters Tuesday's game riding a four-game point streak (three goals, two assists). His 40 points on the season are fourth on the team, and 14 of his 19 tallies on the season have come on the man advantage. Schenn has recorded two goals and five points in eight career contests against the Avalanche.

The Details

Tuesday's game is a 5 p.m. MT start and can be watched live on NBCSN. The radio broadcast can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio AM950 and online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.