Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers Game 54, Andrae’s Return; Lines, Notes, and How to Watch vs. Avalanche

The Philadelphia Flyers (23-24-6) travel to Colorado to take on the Avalanche (30-21-2) on Sunday. The puck drops at 3 p.m. EST in Denver.
The Flyers have been shut out in back-to-back games and have scored one or fewer goals in four of their last five games. The Avalance, while they have scored at least three goals in each of their last five games, are only 2-2-1 in that span.
Each team has quite a different-looking roster from the last time the two teams faced off. The Flyers will be without Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost for the first time in a long time and will not have their new guys. The Avalanche added Martin Necas and Jack Drury after their blockbuster Mikko Rantanen trade with Carolina.
Projected Lines
Forwards
Tyson Foertser – Noah Cates – Travis Konecny
Anthony Richard – Sean Couturier – Matvei Michkov
Scott Laughton – Rodrigo Abols – Bobby Brink
Nicolas Deslauriers – Jacob Gaucher – Garnet Hathaway
Defensemen
Travis Sanheim – Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae – Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler – Erik Johnson
Goaltender
Sam Ersson
Power Play Units
PP1: Travis Konceny – Matvei Michkov – Bobby Brink – Scott Laughton– Rasmus Ristolianen
PP2: Anthony Richard – Noah Cates – Tyson Foerster – Emil Andrae – Rasmus Ristolainen
Penalty Kill Units
PK1: Scott Laughton – Travis Konecny – Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
PK2: Noah Cates – Garnet Hathaway – Nick Seeler – Erik Johnson
Andrae’s Return
Emil Andrae last played in the NHL over a month ago. On December 20th, after an impressive stint with the Flyers, he was loaned back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
In 20 games with the Flyers, Andrae tallied one goal and four assists for five total points. His value seemed to go beyond the stat sheet, however, as he was seemingly one of the Flyers’ best defensemen when he was with the team.
His recent call-up may have something to do with Egor Zamula’s injury (upper body), or it could just be to get him reps while the Phantoms are in the AHL all-star break.
Regardless of his reason, I expect Andrae to draw in immediately, replacing a regular (Cam York?) and letting Erik Johnson play one last game in Colorado.
Roster Move to Come?
The Flyers are in an odd spot with their current roster. The team is carrying three goaltenders again, with Briere using the AHL break to bring Aleksei Kolosov back to the team.
Owen Tippett remains on the 23-man roster despite not being expected to play on Sunday. That leaves Jakob Pelletier as the only other rostered forward who could play on Sunday, and he is still in Alberta due to visa issues. Nicolas Deslauriers practiced with the Flyers’ fourth line on Saturday but still carries an IR designation. If the Flyers were to activate him, someone would have to be loaned back to Lehigh or placed on waivers.
Unless Tippett gets placed on the IR, expect a roster move in the near future.
Previous Matchup
The Avalance took the first game of the two-game set this season 3-2 back in November. Tippett and Tyson Foerster scored for the Flyers, and Helge Grans (1 A) was named the third star of that game. Cale Makar scored twice for the Avs, with Casey Mittlestadt scoring a goal and an assist. Mikko Rantanen (now with the Hurricanes) also had two points in the previous meeting (2 A).
The Avanalce have had the Flyers’ number in their last ten meetings. Philly’s record vs. Colorado is 3-7-0 during that time.
How to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus, ESPN+
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
Puck drop is at 3 P.M. EST. at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
They scored FOUR goals on Monday vs. NJ.
Yes. Thank you. Meant to write “in four of their last five” not each. Thank you.
Another goose egg in Denver…..if Risto is not hurt….maybe he was traded during the game as he was pulled early in the game.