Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Claude Giroux picked up a pair of goals and Jakub Voracek added three assists, as the Philadelphia Flyers gutted out a 4-3 decision over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn also lit the lamp for the Flyers, who won their fifth consecutive home contest despite nearly wasting a 4-0 lead.
Steve Mason allowed three goals in the third, but ended up with the win by making 36 saves.
Max Talbot, Alex Tanguay and Zach Redmond registered one score each for the Avalanche, who opened up a road trip by losing for the fourth time in their last five overall.
Reto Berra made 23 stops in the setback, Colorado's sixth straight away from home.
Talbot ripped a one-timer from the left circle just under the crossbar at 2:29 of the third period and Mason's bid to become only the third Philly netminder to shut out the Nordiques/Avalanche at home was ended.
Tanguay's shot from the right side squeaked between Mason's glove and body with 6:46 gone and halved the Colorado deficit.
Berra made a pad stop on a surprise short-handed breakaway by Zac Rinaldo just after the midway point, and Redmond repaid that effort by ripping a shot from between the circles with 8:22 to play to make it 4-3.
Colorado was given a power play with 2:49 to go, and Berra was pulled for an extra skater. The Avs came close on several occasions, and Flyers defenseman Nick Grossmann made a game-saving skate block on a wide-open John Mitchell chance in the final seconds.
Avs forward Nathan MacKinnon was given a major for boarding Luke Schenn with 53 seconds left in the first, and Giroux threaded the needle through a Simmonds screen on a high wrister from the left circle with 2.9 ticks left.
Schenn left the game and did not return due to what the team called a left shoulder injury.
Simmonds pumped home his fourth power-play goal of the season at 2:48 of the second for the other score on the major, and Schenn made it 3-0 with 11:24 elapsed.
Matt Read was stoned at the right post by Berra, but recovered to snag the puck off the back boards and dish in front for the successful conversion.
The Flyers then enjoyed 1:35 of 5-on-3 time after two Avalanche players were sent off in quick succession, and Vinny Lecavalier fooled everyone by faking a shot from the right circle before dishing across to Giroux for the easy slam- dunk and 4-0 edge at 16:22.
Game Notes
Philadelphia has won four straight home games over Colorado since January of 2006 ... Pelle Lindbergh (5/16/85) and Ron Hextall (3/23/97) are the only Flyers goaltenders to blank Quebec/Colorado in Philly ... Giroux extended his point streak to eight games, while Voracek has recorded at least one point in 13 of 14 appearances this season ... Prior to the contest, the Flyers revealed that defensive prospect Shayne Gostisbehere suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee as a result of a fall taken in Friday's AHL contest between the Phantoms and Manchester Monarchs. The Union College product will have surgery on Thursday ... Colorado hasn't posted a road victory since a 2-1 result on Oct. 13 in Boston.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.