The set-up: The 18-10-3 Flyers travel to Colorado to take on the 11-15-1 Avalanche. Philly's 39 points has them tied for fourth-place in the highly-competitive Metropolitan Division but just two points out of a first-place tie! Meanwhile, Colorado's 23 points leaves the Avalanche in last-place in the Western Conference's Central Division and also with the fewest points of any team in the entire NHL.

Philadelphia: The Flyers' 41-27-14 (96 points) record last season allowed them to grab the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference last season, so the team was obviously hugely disappointed when it opened its first 12 games with a 9-10-3 record. However, the team has delivered a nine-game winning streak, catapulting the Flyers into contention in the Metropolitan Division and just as importantly, it has dragged them out of the mediocrity that plagued the early part of the season.
Philadelphia is allowing an NHL fifth-most 2.97 goals per contest but has averaged 3.56 GPG during its winning streak.

Colorado: The Avalanche have lost five straight at Pepsi Center and are a disappointing 4-8-1 at home on the season (the main reason they are last in the Central Division). However, Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov will come into this game with a little more confidence. He allowed six goals on 16 shots in a brutal 10-1 loss at Montreal on Saturday but bounced back the very next night to make a season-high 51 saves in a 3-1 victory at Toronto.

The pick: I can't help but think that the Flyers are playing over their heads these days and I expect a low scoring game. The Under is a 10* play.