post-2.2

On Saturday afternoon at Ball Arena in Denver, the Flyers sustained a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped all 24 shots he faced. In a losing cause, Samuel Ersson was arguably the Flyers best player in stopping 30 of 32 shots.

For the first time in regular season franchise history, the Philadelphia Flyers have been shut out in three consecutive games. Previously, the Flyers were blanked in three straight games (Games 2, 3 and 4) of the 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Ottawa Senators.

The Flyers, who last previously scored a goal at 19:45 of the third period (Laughton empty netter) of the January 28 game against the New Jersey Devils have seen their goalless string reach 180 minutes, 15 seconds.

Philadelphia came out with good pace in the first period and controlled most of the play over the first half of the frame. Later, the Avalanche started to find a rhythm. Neither team was able to score.

The Flyers recorded each of the game's eight nine shots on net in the first period, although Martin Necas narrowly missed a goal with a shot attempt off the post. At 4:57, after a nice play on the rush by Cam York, Rodrigo Abols had a chance from prime scoring range.

York hobbled off the ice just before the midway mark of the first period after blocking a shot off his foot on an Attturi Lehkonen shot attempt. He remained on the bench and only briefly went down the tunnel before returning.

First period shots on goal ended up 10-6 in the Flyers favor. Samuel Ersson's best save came on a blistering shot from Devon Toews off a pass from Necas. The Flyers blocked six shots in the period, while the Avs missed the net three times and Necas hit the post early in the period.

Early in the second period, Jacob Gaucher had a good shift that started with a nice defensive play and ended with a chance at the other end of the ice. Meanwhile, Ersson stopped a Josh Manson point shot and a rebound attempt.

The Avalanche took a 1-0 lead at 8:33 on a goal by Samuel Girard (3rd of the season). The sequence started with a Scott Laughton scoring chance on a 2-on-1 that was fired wide of the net. On the counterattack, Girard joined the attack and skated past Rodrigo Abols. Receiving a pass from Casey Mittlestadt, Giriard wristed the puck into the net. The helpers went to Mittelstadt and Jonatha Drouin.

Just before the 10:00 mark, a Travis Konecny turnover on an entry attempt and an ill-timed line change forced Ersson to scramble for a save. Ersson made a clutch save against Nathan MacKinnon off a feed from Necas. One shift earlier, Ersson erased a Matvei Michkov turnover on a clearing attempt.

The game's first penalty was whistled at 15:41 as Laughton was called for hooking while jostling for position with Manson. With 22 seconds left in the 5-on-4, MacKinnon sniped a shot (PPG, 20th goal) from just above the faceoff dot. The puck may have redirected off Rasmus Ristolainen. The assists went to Makar and Drouin. Ristolainen left the game and did not return.

With 16.2 seconds remaining in the middle frame, Noah Cates got his skates tangled with Necas in the neutral zone. Cates received a tripping minor. The Avalanche took 1:43 of carryover power play time into the third period. Second period shots were 17-8 Colorado (23-18 Avalanche) through 40 minutes.

The Flyers survived the carryover penalty time. Erik Johnson and Nick Seeler blocked a combined three shot attempts from Colorado. At 3:55, York hit Garnet Hathaway with a pass and Hathaway took the puck to the house for a good scoring chance.

Ersson came up with a great save on a screened shot that pinballed on the net off a severe deflection by Miles Wood. Through 12 minutes, shots on goal in the third period were 8-5 Avalanche. With 6:02 remaining in regulation, Ersson fought off some traffic to glove down a Manson shot for his 30th save of the game.

Philly finally went to the power play at 14:39 as Wood was called for slashing. The Flyers soon pulled Ersson for a 6-on-5 attack. Cates had a scoring chance (his fourth of the game, unofficially) but was unable to cut the gap.

Colorado fired the puck into the empty net just as time expired in the third period. The goal did not count. Third period shots were 8-7 in the Avs' favor (32-24 Colorado for the game).

The Flyers dressed seven defensemen and 11 forwards. Twenty-three-year-old center Gaucher made his NHL debut. On the blueline, Emil Andrae and Erik Johnson drew into the lineup.

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

71 Tyson Foerster - 27 Noah Cates - 11 Travis Konecny

90 Anthony Richard - 14 Sean Couturier - 39 Matvei Michkov

21 Scott Laughton - 18 Rodrigo Abols - 10 Bobby Brink

[mix] - 78 Jacob Gaucher - 19 Garnet Hathaway

8 Cam York - 6 Travis Sanheim

24 Nick Seeler- 9 Jamie Drysdale

36 Emil Andrae - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen

77 Erik Johnson

33 Samuel Ersson

[82 Ivan Fedotov]

PP1: Drysdale, Andrae, Richard, Cates, Foerster

PP2: Ristolainen, Konecny, Brink, Laughton, Michkov

Scratches: 74 Owen Tippett (upper body), 5 Egor Zamula (upper body), 44 Nicolas Deslauriers (IR), 25 Ryan Poehling (upper body), 22 Jacob Pelletier (not yet with team), Andrei Kuzmenko (not yet with team).

TURNING POINT

Odd man rush scoring chance at one end, goal at the other end: That's how the sequence that led up to Girard's goal unfolded. The tide turned for the remainder of the period and the Flyers never caught up on the scoreboard.

POSTGAME 5 ("5 Things" Revisited)

1. Get to the net: Cates did a good job at attacking the Colorado net. Hathaway did as well on his early third period scoring chance. However, after the Flyers quickly racked up eight shots in the first period, Blackwood went long stretches without seeing much rubber. What he did have to stop was usually clear-sighted.

2. Compensating for shorthanded lineup: The Flyers came into the game knowing they'd need someone -- anyone -- to scratch out an ugly goal or two. It wasn't to be.

3. Konecny with Foerster and Cates: Cates was the Flyers' best forward on the bulk of his shifts. It was a frustrating afternoon for Konecny (one shot on goal on four attempts in 24:55 of ice time). Foerster had two shots on goal and two credited hits in 23:12.

4. Michkov watch: With the Flyers desperate for a goal, Michkov was out on the ice frequently in the third period in particular. Overall, he skated 16:29 of ice time for the game. The Russian rookie attempted three shots (two were one, one missed the net).

5. Altitude factor (short shifts): The Flyers generally had the sort of first period they needed to have, despite neither team scoring. In the second period, Philly got caught in some prolonged defensive zone shifts and were guilty of a bad line change attempt that Ersson was forced to come up big to erase. The goalie's play was the primary silver lining for the Flyers in this game.