The Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Avalanche didn’t make the NHL playoffs. Instead, they’ve set up shop on Team Canada.
Five Flyers and four Avalanche are on coach Jon Cooper’s squad for the IIHF world championship that opens Friday in Paris and Cologne, Germany.
“On the two power-play units especially, there’s one with nearly all Philadelphia players and the other with nearly all Colorado players,” defenceman Mike Matheson of the Florida Panthers said this week. “I think the coaches and management have done a good job of finding a group of guys who already have chemistry.
“That makes a difference in a short tournament.