PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cale Makar scored two goals, Casey Mittelstadt scored one and Justus Annunen had 24 saves to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Monday night in a game that featured a referee was carried off the ice.
Makar is off to a sensational scoring start for a defender. He beat Aleksei Kolosov for his seventh and eighth goals of the season and now has 27 points in 19 games.
Leading 2-0 in the third, Mittelstadt scored his seventh goal of the season.
Owen Tippett and Tyson Foerster scored for the Flyers in the third to make it 3-2.
Takeaways
Avalanche: Colorado won for the fourth time in five games.
Flyers: Philadelphia posted a modest three-game winning streak. They have been playing better lately after a tough start to the season. There are three games left on the homestand.
Key moment
Referee Mitch Dunning was involved in a violent collision with Colorado defenseman Josh Manson early in the first period. Dunning is fully communicative and can move his limbs. The NHL said Dunning was taken to a hospital as a precaution and that all neurological symptoms are normal.
Key stat
1,000. Flyers defenseman Erik Johnson was honored for playing in his 1,000th career game, a win over Buffalo on Saturday. Johnson, the No. 1 pick in the 2006 NHL draft, played most of his career with the Avalanche and helped them to a Stanley Cup title in 2022.
Peyton Manning was among the celebrities who congratulated Johnson on his milestone in a pregame video. Johnson received wine, a Rolex watch and a vacation from the Flyers.
Johnson also played for Buffalo and St. Louis and is in his second season with the Flyers.
Next
The Avalanche play at Washington on Thursday. The Flyers host Carolina on Wednesday.
