Flyers comeback attempt falls short against Avalanche, snapping a three-game winning streak

All good things must come to an end.

Winners of three straight and collectors of points in five in a row, the Flyers’ streaking was halted in a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.

Trailing 3-0 in the third period, the Flyers turned it on and tried to mount a comeback but fell short.

Owen Tippett got the Flyers on the board with a shot from atop the circle off a pass from Travis Konecny with 8 minutes, 12 seconds left. Less than 2 minutes later, the Flyers made it a one-goal game. Helge Grans, in his NHL debut, put the puck on net and Avalanche goalie Justus Annuen did not sit on it after Bobby Brink jabbed at it. Tyson Foerster jumped in and put the loose puck in. Grans got the secondary assist.

» READ MORE: Referee in the Flyers-Avalanche game taken off on a stretcher after colliding with a Colorado player

As the Wells Fargo Center came alive, so did the Flyers. But they were unable to finish the deal despite controlling play the rest of the way.

Sometimes history rears its ugly head. On Monday, it did it twofold.

The Flyers had a chance to select defenseman Cale Makar in the 2017 NHL draft. Instead, they opted for Nolan Patrick at No. 2 and Makar went two spots later to the Avalanche. Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but the Calgary, Alberta native potted a pair of goals in the second period to give Colorado a 2-0 lead.

The first, his seventh of the season, saw him receive a pass from Nathan MacKinnon as he skated into the Flyers zone and snapped a wrister from the high slot past the glove of Aleksei Kolosov. His second goal was on the power play, coming from above the circle that appeared to get deflected in off Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler.

In between his goals that counted, Makar also put one past Kolosov. The blueliner got the puck in the high slot, turned, and ripped it top corner, but coach John Tortorella and his staff challenged it for goaltender interference. The video review determined Jonathan Drouin “had a significant presence in the crease and impaired Aleksei Kolosov’s ability to play his position prior to the puck entering the net.”

» READ MORE: Flyers place goalie Sam Ersson on injured reserve; defenseman Helge Grans to make his NHL debut

Casey Mittelstadt gave the Avalanche a three-goal lead in the third period when he pounced on Mikko Rantanen’s shot rebound.

Referee Mitch Dunning was injured in the first period after colliding with Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson. He left on a stretcher and was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons. The NHL reported on X that all neurological signs are normal and Dunning is fully communicative and can move all his extremities. … Kolosov made his first start since Nov. 5. He sustained an injury in the team’s morning skate in Tampa Bay Nov. 7. … Defenseman Egor Zamula left in the third period, briefly came back to the bench but left again. He did not play the final 15:58. … Defenseman Erik Johnson was honored before the game for reaching the 1,000-game milestone on Saturday. Johnson, joined on the ice by his wife and parents, received a commemorative bottle of wine and a Rolex watch from the Flyers. Team president Keith Jones presented Johnson with a Tiffany crystal and general manager Danny Brière, who played with Johnson in Colorado, gave him the silver stick. Avalanche captain and longtime friend Gabriel Landeskog joined them on the ice and gifted him a framed portrait and a trip to Napa, Calif.

» READ MORE: Former No. 1 pick Erik Johnson almost quit hockey in 2021. Now, he’s a Stanley Cup champ nearing 1,000 games

The Flyers host Sean Walker and the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., NBCSP, TNT, Max).