PHILADELPHIA — Erik Johnson had a goal and an assist, and the Colorado Avalanche beat Philadelphia 7-5 on Monday night to hand the Flyers their ninth straight loss just hours after they fired Coach Alain Vigneualt.
Mike Yeo took over as interim coach of the Flyers, but they didn’t fare any better following the shakeup.
Nazem Kadri, Gabriel Landeskog, Alex Newhook, Cale Makar, Valeri Nichushkin and Tyson Jost also scored for the Avalanche, who had 50 shots on goal.
Claude Giroux scored twice for Philadelphia, which could tie the club record for consecutive losses Wednesday night at New Jersey. Oskar Lindblom, Cam Atkinson and Scott Laughton also had goals.
Earlier in the day, the Flyers fired Vigneualt after he went 147-74-54 in two-plus seasons. Vigneault led the Flyers to the top seed in the Eastern Conference in 2019-20, but they missed the playoffs last season. General Manager Chuck Fletcher made the move following Philadelphia’s 7-1 home loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday night.
Fletcher also let go of assistant coach Michel Therrien, who oversaw a power play that entered 30th in the NHL at 13.4%.
Giroux said before the game that the Flyers had no identity.
“We have a lot of things to figure out, a lot of things to work on,” he said. “I doubt that we’re going to solve all of them tonight. But for tonight, go out there tonight in front of our fans, work our butt off and do everything we can to get a win.”
The Flyers may have worked hard, but the result was all too familiar.
Giroux’s slap shot from the slot gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead 6:02 in, but the Avalanche zipped past Philadelphia with speed and skill for four straight goals, culminating with Makar’s rush into the Flyers zone past defenseman Ivan Provorov that he finished with a wrister past goalie Martin Jones on the glove side.
It looked as if Colorado was on its way to a repeat of Tampa Bay’s lopsided victory Sunday, but the Flyers closed the first period with a pair of goals, on Lindblom’s first in 22 games this season and Giroux’s second of the night on a one-timer on the power play.
Philadelphia entered with just nine goals in 67 chances on the man-advantage before scoring a pair in the high-scoring opening period.
The scoring calmed down in the second, as Colorado got the only tally by Nichushkin 1:42 into the period.
The two-goal margin was plenty for the high-scoring Avalanche, who entered leading the NHL in goals per game at 4.00. Philadelphia has struggled to put the puck in the net all season and entered with 34 fewer goals than the Avalanche in one more game played.
The Flyers had gone 17 consecutive games with three goals or fewer before Atkinson’s tally on a one-timer from close range 2:16 into the third pulled Philadelphia to 5-4. Philadelphia last scored more than three goals on Oct. 27.
Kadri restored the two-goal lead with a power-play goal 3½ minutes later for his team-leading 31st point.
Justus Annunen, playing in his second career game, made 27 saves for the Avalanche.
SENATORS 3, DEVILS 2: Josh Norris scored the decisive goal in a shootout as visiting Ottawa won its third straight.
Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle and New Jersey’s Tomas Tatar also scored in the shootout.
The Devils lost their fourth straight in a game that was a makeup contest for a Nov. 16 game postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak on the Senators.
Damon Severson and Nathan Bastian scored for the Devils, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 21 saves.
Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk scored for the Senators. Anton Forsberg made 22 saves in regulation and overtime for Ottawa, and stopped Andrea Johnsson in the shootout to secure the win.
CAPITALS 4, DUCKS 3: John Carlson tied the game late in the second period and then scored Washington’s third and final shootout goal to give the Capitals a win at home.
Tom Wilson scored his 100th career goal and Carl Hagelin added his first of the season for Washington, which improved 2-0-1 during a four-game homestand.
Alex Ovechkin added his 20th and 21st assists for the Capitals, then joined Daniel Sprong in scoring during the shootout.
Ilya Samsonov made 31 saves, including the only one required by either goaltender in overtime.
Sonny Milano had a goal and assist for Anaheim, which a day earlier saw all-time leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf go on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
NOTES
CANUCKS: Owner Francesco Aquilini says he may have been “too patient” in waiting for the struggling NHL team to turn its season around.
His patience ran out Sunday as the team cleaned house, firing General Manager Jim Benning, assistant manager Jim Weisbrod, Coach Travis Green and assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner.
The Canucks replaced Green with Bruce Boudreau, signing the veteran NHL coach to a deal through the 2022-23 season. Stan Smyl, a former Canucks right-winger, was promoted from senior adviser to interim general manager.
The search for new hockey operations leadership is underway, Aquilini said, and “everything is on the table,” including potentially hiring both a GM and a president.
PUNISHMENT: Winnipeg defenseman Neal Pionk was suspended two games for a knee-on-knee hit on Toronto’s Rasmus Sandin in the third period Sunday.
After the hit on Sandin, Maple Leafs center Jason Spezza drove his left knee into the face of Pionk, who was stickless and on his knees trying to clear a puck.
Spezza has been offered an in-person hearing with NHL, and likely will be suspended.
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