Zegras finished with 3 assists, and he got there without Tyson Foerster, who was ruled out before puck drop, and with Owen Tippett now on injured reserve. Philadelphia's right side was thin to begin with, and Travis Konecny and Nikita Grebenkin are both still out. A lineup that short on wingers could easily have been run out of the building. Instead it had the lead for most of the night.
Colorado's only answer in the middle of the game came 2:08 into the 2nd, when Martin Necas scored from Devon Toews and Artturi Lehkonen to tie it 1-1. Michkov's second goal came 5 minutes later, and the Avalanche never got level again. The team that scored 20 goals in its previous 5 games got 2 here, 1 each in the 2nd and 3rd.
The preview leaned on Nathan MacKinnon, coming off a goal and 3 assists against Pittsburgh. He wasn't credited on Necas's goal, and the scoring summary in the one box score searched for this recap doesn't name him anywhere. On a night when Colorado needed its best forward to drag it back into the game, he didn't. Nicolas Roy and Zachary L'Heureux were still out, so the depth that carried the Avalanche through their good stretch had less to work with.
Both teams scored once in the 3rd, and Noel Acciari's goal was Philadelphia's. That was enough to hold Colorado off. The defensive trend the preview pointed to (goals allowed falling every game, from 5 down to 1 against Ottawa) ticked back up to 2, but against this offense, 2 is a good night. Three of the Flyers' losses in their recent run came by a single goal. This time they were on the right end of 1.
The preview also expected Porter Martone to share the load with Michkov, as he did against Ottawa, but Martone doesn't appear in the scoring summary that was found. The secondary help came from Zegras, Barkey, Nick Cates and Acciari. That's the encouraging part for Philadelphia: with 3 regular right wingers out, the win came from whoever was dressed. Colorado drops to 5-3-1 and is 2-3 in its last 5. The Flyers have won 2 straight and are 2-6-3.