Rick Tocchet's Philadelphia Flyers (23-17-9) are in the Mile High City on Friday night to take on Jared Bednar's Colorado Avalanche (34-5-9). It's the second and final meeting of the 2025-26 season series between the teams.
Game time at Ball Arena is 9:00 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on NBCSP.
Back on December 7 at Xfinity Mobile Arena, the Avalanche prevailed by a 3-2 score. Colorado withstood a 13-3 shot barrage from the Flyers in the third period, including a Trevor Zegras penalty shot. Brent Burns, Brock Nelson (PPG) and Valeri Nichushkin scored for Colorado. Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny tallied for Philly.
The Flyers enter Friday's game with a 1-0-1 record on their current western road swing. Tocchet's team earned a 2-1 win over Vegas to start the trip. Konency scored two breakaway goals. On Wednesday in Utah, the Flyers suffered a gut-wrenching 5-4 overtime loss. Philly led by scores of 3-0 and 4-2 -- and played with a lead from the 30-second mark of the first period until 19:25 of the third period.
The Avalanche have been nearly unbeatable at home this season. Bedar's team brings a sparkling 20-1-4 home record into Friday's game. The Avs are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games overall. On Wednesday, the Anaheim Ducks skated off with a 2-1 (2-0) shootout win in Colorado.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch on Friday.
1. Move past last game
The circumstances of Monday's OT loss in Utah were a very bitter pill for the entire Flyers team to swallow. It's easier said than done to focus on the overall process and execution of the game's first 50 minutes. Human nature is to dwell on errors of commission and omission that proved fatal in the end.
Nevertheless, this is exactly what the Flyers must do on Friday. Four nights ago, the Flyers found a way -- it wasn't pretty or flawless -- to end the Vegas Golden Knights' seven-game winning streak and halt their own six-game winless stretch. The same resolve is needed against the Avalanche, except perhaps on an even higher scale.
2. Couturier and the veterans
At times such as these, teams need their veteran leaders to (as Flyers Hall of Famer Joe Watson is fond of saying) know the way, go the way and show the way for the club.
That starts with team captain Sean Couturier and extends through the other veterans on the team -- Konency, Travis Sanheim, etc.
Specific to Couturier, Friday would be the perfect night to end a 23-game goal drought that extends back to the captain's tally in the Dec. 7 home game against the Avs. Couturier has eight assists in that span -- tied for fourth on the team -- but the Flyers need to get more players contributing goals, too.
Over the last 23 games, Konecny leads the Flyers with 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points. Zegras is second (9g, 11a, 20 points) followed by Christian Dvorak (6g, 10a, 16 points). Role-playing winger Carl Grundstrom, a healthy scratch in Utah, has chipped in seven goals and nine points in 21 games. Owen Tippett has six goals and five assists for 11 points.
3. Youthful energy
Pick your cliche about Friday's game: gut check, measuring stick, all hands on deck, etc. Whichever one(s) you choose, it applies to this match. The Flyers need some of their young players such as Matvei Michkov, Emil Andrae and Denver Barkey to bring both energy and poise.
Start with Michkov. The 21-year-old Russian played with energy and had seven shots on goal -- six in the first two periods -- on Wednesday in Utah over 12:11 of ice time. He ended his personal goal drought on Jan. 15 in Pittsburgh for his lone point in the past five games.
4. Make the Avs earn their offense
The likes of Art Ross Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon and superstar defenseman Cale Makar don't need much time or space to weave their magic. They also don't need gifted turnovers or defensive overplays to burn an opponent. MacKinnon was held off the scoresheet by Anaheim last game after racking up seven points (2g, 5a) in the three previous matches. The Ducks also kept Makar off the board.
Duplicating that feat is a very tall order. However, the Flyers can at least potentially contain those two players, along with Martin Necas, veteran Brock Nelson, Artturi Lehkonen and more. The Flyers have their work cut out for them.
