Flyers' Giroux on streak: 'We know in Philly they're enjoying it as much as we are'

DENVER -- The Flyers will try to extend their winning streak to 10 games when they face struggling Colorado at the Pepsi Center at 10 p.m. Wednesday.

The Avs (11-15-1) are just 4-8-1 at home, where they have lost five straight.

Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said that he considers them a "dangerous lineup offensively" and that his team had to "be ready to play with and without the puck against them."

Matt Duchene (10 goals, 18 points) and Nathan MacKinnon lead the Avalanche.

"They're tremendous offensively. Their transition game and their down-low game is very good," Hakstol said, though the Avs are 27th in the 30-team NHL, averaging just 2.22 goals. "Their group of forwards are strong, quick and difficult to handle down low."

The Flyers are trying to win 10 straight for the first time since 1985. That streak ended at 13, a franchise record.

Captain Claude Giroux said the Flyers talk about the streak and use it as an inspiration.

"We want to keep it alive. We know in Philly they're enjoying it as much as we are right now," Giroux said. "It's not going to be easy to keep the streak alive. Every game is a big game, but right now we're doing a good job of staying focused on how we need to play."

"We're embracing it," Pierre-Edouard-Bellemare said of the streak.

Goalie matchup. Steve Mason (12-8-3, 2.78 GAA, .905 save percentage) will make his 14th start in the last 16 games.

Mason has won a personal-best seven straight, during which he has a 2.23 GAA and .930 save percentage.

Mason was given a night off Sunday. He was the backup as rookie Anthony Stolarz blanked Detroit, 1-0, in overtime.

"It was fun to sit back in a kind of more-relaxed environment," Mason said. "I enjoyed things a little more. When you're in every game, I get in such a focused mind-set where you don't tend to enjoy things as much."

Mason paused.

"To sit back and watch Stolie step in and finally get a shutout -- it took him a while -- was good," he cracked.

It took Stolarz just two starts to get his first NHL shutout.

Added Mason: "It was good to get a mental break and a physical break as well."

Mason will be opposed by Calvin Pickard, who is 5-3-1 with a 2.72 GAA and .913 save percentage.

Avs killer. Giroux has six goals in eight career games against Colorado.

Injury update. Sean Couturier and Matt Read skated with the team for the first time since their injuries.

Couturier, who will probably wear a knee brace the rest of the season, hopes to return at some point during a road trip that starts Dec. 28 in St. Louis.

"It's feeling pretty good and getting better every day," Couturier said. "... The biggest challenge, I'd say, is maybe getting used to the brace. It's different skating with it, but I'm feeling pretty good."

Read (upper body injury) said there was no timetable for his return. He said he was making progress, though it was difficult for him to catch his breath.

"It's Colorado and my lungs aren't there, but besides that, I'm fine," Read said. "Feeling better."

He said he was "doing as much as I can until I feel 100 percent."

Read said it was "tough to sit out, but at the same time, the team's playing good. A nine-game winning streak hasn't happened in a while and it's fun to watch. I want to get back in the lineup as soon as I can and help the team, but as long as they're winning, you don't have to rush back like if it was a nine-game losing streak."

Breakaways. Giroux is plus-11 during the nine-game winning streak. ... Wednesday's game will be the Flyers' 13th in 23 nights. ... Michael Del Zotto will take Mark Streit's spot on the second power-play unit. Streit is expected to miss about two weeks with an injured left shoulder.