Coming off their debut win of the season against those lame Minnesota Wild, the Colorado Avalanche look to keep the good times rolling against Social Media Influencer and Puppet King of the Internet Gritty and the Philadelphia Flyers.
After a commanding win over the Wild folk of Minnesota where the Avs dominated the possession and shots battle, and ultimately on the scoresheet. Semyon Varlamov didn’t have to work too hard in the win, but when he was asked to come up big, he did.
As a result of his strong play, Varly has earned the Saturday night start, meaning newly-acquired Philipp Grubauer gets the start on Tuesday when the Avalanche fly to Ohio to play the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Did the Avs win?
— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) October 5, 2018
YES!!
1-0-0 in 2018-19!
The Avalanche
No one expected what we saw in game one against the Wild, not even Avs fans. The squad was dominate from puck drop to final horn; they held the puck and pushed for offense constantly, and they limited chances to shots from the perimeter or low-percentage opportunities from in tight. It almost felt relentless.
Looking at some stats, there wasn’t a single player on the Avs who was out-shot while they were on the ice in Thursday’s game. That’s pretty impressive stuff. The second line of Alex Kerfoot, Tyson Jost, and Colin Wilson were among the best lines in terms of limiting shots against. They may have done all that work in a sheltered role (only one defensive zone faceoff), but it was good to see them make the most of their opportunity.
Sheldon Dries and five magical minutes in the NHL. pic.twitter.com/ny4zwh5j8x
— Sean Tierney (@ChartingHockey) October 6, 2018
Looking ahead, head coach Jared Bednar gave some of his players — Tyson Barrie and Patrik Nemeth are both supposedly dealing with little nagging things — a break from practice, but the lineup will remain the same as on Thursday.
Don't see D Tyson Barrie at practice. Erik Johnson is running the No. 1 power play. Probably just maintenance day for Barrie. #Avs
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) October 5, 2018
Coach Bednar said no lineup changes Sat vs. PHI. Semyon Varlamov will start in net. Philipp Grubauer to make his debut with #Avs Tuesday at CLB. D-men Barrie and Nemeth nicked up and didn't skate but are fine.
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) October 5, 2018
The day after opener: Coach Bednar talks about C Carl Soderberg and Saturday’s lineup vs Philly #Avs pic.twitter.com/4ajN7GFfY8
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) October 5, 2018
Forwards
Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikko Rantanen
Alex Kerfoot - Tyson Jost - Colin Wilson
Matt Nieto - Carl Soderberg - Gabriel Bourque
Matt Calvert - J.T. Compher - Sheldon Dries
Defense
Sam Girard - Erik Johnson
Nikita Zadorov - Tyson Barrie
Ian Cole - Mark Barberio
UPDATE: Mark Barberio is in for Patrik Nemeth on the third pair.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers are also coming off a season-opening win, this one a 5-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on the road. Wayne Simmonds scored twice in the win and Brian Elliott stopped 23/25 shots in the win.
A lot of talk over the summer surrounding the Flyers was regarding the future of Simmonds. He’s 30-years-old and in the final season of his extremely team-friendly contract. With James van Reimsdyk —who plays a similar style — now with the team and wuth term, fans and media speculated whether Simmonds was on his way out. It looks like the Flyers are going to try and make this season work as is, and it looks like they have succeeded in the early goings.
Forwards
Claude Giroux - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom - Nolan Patrick - Jakub Voracek
James van Riemsdyk - Mikhail Vorobyev - Wayne Simmonds
Scott Laughton - Jori Lehtera - Matt Raffl
Defense
Ivan Provorov - Shane Gostisbehere
Travis Sanheim - Radko Gudas
Robert Hagg - Andrew MacDonald
Starting Goalies
Bednar has confirmed that Varlamov will be starting tonight, with Philipp Grubauer backing him up, and starting on Tuesday. Varlamov stopped 19 of 20 shots against Minnesota, and looked very comfortable in the net.
Brian Elliott is the projected starter for Philadelphia, who have recently made some goaltending changes following the injury to Michael Neuvirth. Familiar face Calvin Pickard is now with the team after being claimed from the Toronto Maple Leafs. He will backup Elliott instead of Alex Stolarz, who was initially going to be the third goalie in the organization.