The Avalanche took their foot off the gas in Philadelphia.

They still accomplished their mission, though.

It was an ugly third period, but the Avalanche were good enough through the first 40 minutes that it ultimately didn’t matter, as the team walked away with a 3-2 victory over the Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sunday.

Here are five takeaways from another win on the road for the Avalanche:

1. With Scott Wedgewood still out due to a back issue, Mackenzie Blackwood started his second game in less than 25 hours. It worked out well, as Blackwood held down the fort in the third period when the Avalanche were outshot 13-3. Colorado’s goaltender was forced to stop a penalty shot early in the third period from Trevor Zegras and showed good patience just waiting out the skilled forward. Trent Miner was sent back to the AHL after the game, so Wedgewood may be ready for Tuesday’s game in Nashville.
2. The patience shown by Martin Necas on Colorado’s first goal is why he got a big contract extension a little over a month ago. He waited and waited until a small lane opened to hit Brent Burns on the far side, who sent a shot past Samuel Ersson’s blocker. It was a four-point weekend for the Avalanche forward, who is top five in the NHL in scoring.
3. It feels like it’s just a matter of time before Valeri Nichushkin ends up back on the second line for good. Jared Bednar shuffled Nichushkin and Ross Colton during both weekend games, but it was mostly Colton playing with Brock Nelson and Gabriel Landeskog. That likely won’t be the case for much longer. Nichushkin scored a very pretty goal in the second period, taking a pass from Devon Toews and firing it far side on Ersson all in one motion.
4. The worst road power play in the NHL finally broke through against the Flyers. What was the key? Actually shooting the puck. Before Brock Nelson finally put in the puck after a net-front scramble, Necas had hit the post, Makar had just missed the net, and Nathan MacKinnon’s shot had created some chaos around Ersson. When your power play is having issues, go back to the basics.
5. Victor Olofsson has always been streaky when it comes to goal scoring, but he’s now gone 10 games without putting the puck in the net. All six of his goals came in the same three games, so he’s gone without a goal in 26 of Colorado’s 29 games. It’s also worth noting he recently missed practice due to maintenance, so he might be dealing with something. If Gavin Brindley gets healthy soon, wonder if that gives them the ability to give Olofsson a night off.

***

Avalanche 3, Flyers 2

What happened: Tidy work by the Avalanche to lock down four points in about 28 hours out East.

What went right: It was a hot start for the Avalanche, who scored three goals in the first 22 minutes of the game. At that point, the Flyers had registered just four shots on net.

What went wrong: Colorado is a very good team on the second half of a back-to-back, but you could see fatigue setting in when the third period rolled around. There was a lot of holding on. Luckily for them, Blackwood was on top of his game.

Avalanche goal scorers: Burns (4), Nelson (10), Nichushkin (7)

Flyers goal scorers: Couturier (5) , Konecny (7)

Between the pipes: Mackenzie Blackwood held strong in the third and finished with 23 saves on 25 shots.

What’s next: The Avalanche finish their road trip in Nashville on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.