Appropriately, the Avalanche Are in Town

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For the first time in awhile, Philly residents had to brush snow off their cars before commuting home today, probably in weather-related traffic. As if according to plan, the Flyers host the Avalanche tonight at the Wachovia Center, where the home team will try to remain one of  the NHL's two hottest teams. Only the Bruins have equaled the Flyers' run in the last month, and they've been damn near perfect. In their last 16 games, the Flyers are 12-1-3, and the Bruins are an amazing 13-2-1.

The Avalanche are one of those teams that always gives the Flyers trouble though, including a 5-2 road loss on my birthday (thanks for that, btw). But that was a different Flyers team, one that was losing frustratingly by playing incomplete games. After that loss, the team held a players-only meeting after getting a talkin' to from the coach.

Before the team meeting, the team was 0-3-1. The Flyers record since
the meeting is 14-4-6, so obviously whatever was said behind closed
doors in Colorado really made this team kick it up a notch.

More evidence that closed-door meetings heal all wounds.

This season, the Avalanche have won one fewer game than the Flyers, but they have seven more non-OT losses, so they're only a game over .500. The teams are just about equal in goals against, but the Flyers have scored 20 more. With Marty Biron sick, Antero Niittymaki will get the start tonight. Randy Jones has been cleared to play for the first time this season, but he'll be with the Phantoms initially, giving Homer some time to see how he's recovered, and also figure out what to do with the logjam on the big club's roster. It's great to have Jones back, but the team's been winning, so it's hard to tinker with what works.

Opposing Players to Watch: The Avalanche beat Detroit last night with their backup Andrew Raycroft in net, but Peter Budaj is more likely to start the second game of a back-to-back tonight. The Flyers have never faced him...  One familiar face you won't see is Joe Sakic, who had been out with a back injury, but now has three broken fingers after an unfortunate snowblower accident. Coulda been worse, Joe...  Milan Hejduk leads the team with 12 goals, while Paul Stastny has the most points (just 26)...  Veteran defenseman Adam Foote recently returned from an injury, and he's always a factor.

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