Avalanche skate to an easy win over the Flyers
PHILADELPHIA >> Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog are the top line in Colorado — and right now, the NHL.
Rantanen had two goals, Matt Nieto and Landeskog also scored, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 on Monday night.
The Avalanche continued their early-season hot streak and finished 3-0-1 on their four-game road trip.
“We know that we have to be better than we were last year on the road. It’s a focus of ours,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We don’t feel like there’s any reason we can’t play the way we do at home out on the road, even though there’s some tougher circumstances.”
They’ll be fine if the top line keeps producing like this. Landeskog had a hat trick on the trip against New Jersey and clinched this one with his eighth goal of the season early in the third period.
“I’ve had a lot of fun in the NHL but no doubt we’re getting some production and we’re playing well and creating a lot of chances,” Landeskog said.
Semyon Varlamov was solid in net and stopped 37 shots.
The Flyers continued to push their rookie mascot Gritty, giving out T-shirts and running fun facts (“Gritty has been known to use the express lane at the grocery story even when he buys more than 15 items”) on the big screen of the furry fan favorite. But the frivolity can’t mask the problems for a Flyers’ team that suffered its third home loss of the season and continued to struggle in the defensive zone.
“I think it took us getting down to come to life there and I think, especially in our home building, we got to come on strong and we got to sync more,” Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim said.
Rantanen needed only 3:23 to beat Brian Elliott for his third goal of the season and the quick lead. MacKinnon set up Rantanen for the power-play score, and they became the first players in franchise history with concurrent nine-game point streaks to start the season.
Nieto was left open on the left side to score his first goal of the season in the second.
Flyers captain Claude Giroux lost the puck in the offensive zone and Landeskog capitalized with a breakaway goal for a 3-0 lead.