Makar scores 2 goals to lift Colorado past Flyers 3-2 in game marred by injured referee

PHILADELPHIA — Cale Makar scored two goals, Casey Mittelstadt scored one and Justus Annunen had 24 saves to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night in a game where a referee was stretchered off the ice.

Makar is off to a sensational scoring start for a defenseman. 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 bring it to 3-2.

Takeaways

Avalanche: Colorado won for the fourth time in five games.

Flyers: Philadelphia snapped a modest three-game winning streak. They had been playing better of late after a rough start to the season. They have three more 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 extremities. The NHL said Dunning was taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons and that all neurological signs 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 of the 2006 NHL draft, played the bulk of his career with the Avalanche and helped lead 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 second season with the Flyers.

Up next

The Avalanche play Thursday at Washington. The Flyers host Carolina on Wednesday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl