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Avalanche forward Max Talbot will make his first appearance at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Thursday night for the first time since Colorado acquired him in the Oct. 31 trade that sent Steve Downie to the Flyers.

So, which team got the better of the deal?

I'd say it's a wash. The Avalanche has gone 26-14-5 for 57 points in 45 games since the trade, while the Flyers have gone 25-15-6 for 56 points in 46 games. Yes, you can make the case that the Avalanche had a 10-1-0 record at the time, while the Flyers were 3-8-0, so Downie must have made more of an impact.

The Flyers went 4-4-1 in the nine games Downie missed because of injuries, so they've gone 21-11-5 in the 37 games he's played. But has he made a bigger difference than coach Craig Berube? The Flyers are 28-20-6 since he replaced Peter Laviolette after the team lost its first three games. They're 25-14-6 since Nov. 1.

Downie has two goals and 12 assists with the Flyers, three goals and 18 assists in 48 games overall. Talbot, who was acquired more for his penalty-killing ability and defensive play than offense, has five goals and 12 assists in 45 games with the Avalanche, six goals and 13 assists in 56 games overall. Downie has a plus-4 plus/minus rating and 90 penalty minutes for the season, while Talbot has a plus-2 rating and 27 penalty minutes.

To me, both players have had a positive influence on their respective teams, though I would have expected Downie to score more goals than he has. Talbot has given a young Avalanche team a player with a Stanley Cup championship ring he won with Pittsburgh and whose postseason experience can only help once this team clinches its first playoff berth in four years.

*****

The Avalanche needs to bounce back from Tuesday's 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the Rangers for any chance to reach coach Patrick Roy's goal of securing seven points in the final five games before the Olympic break. Colorado is 2-1-0 in the first three games with Thursday's date against the Flyers and Saturday's game on Long Island remaining.

Semyon Varlamov, who faced 43 shots Tuesday, will start in goal in another matchup with Steve Mason. Both goalies made 29 saves Jan. 2 at the Pepsi Center in the Avalanche's 2-1 win.

Mason, who will make his sixth consecutive start, has gone 3-1-0 with a 1.51 goals-against average and .949 save percentage in his past four games. He's 4-7-2 in his career against the Avalanche with one shutout, a 3.17 average and .895 save percentage. Varlamov is 1-0-1 against the Flyers with a 3.11 average and .909 save percentage.

Paul Stastny, who returned from his ankle injury against the Rangers, will play again, but Alex Tanguay (knee) will sit out his fourth game in a row. It makes sense for the Avalanche to sit Tanguay again Saturday and give him the two-week Olympic break to get healthy.

The Flyers will get a boost with the return of defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who missed the past two games with a bruised foot.

Gabriel Landeskog has three goals and six assists in a seven-game point-scoring streak ... Nathan MacKinnon has three goals and six assists in a six-game streak ... Matt Duchene, still stuck on 99 career goals, has one goal and 16 assists in the past 22 games ... The Avalanche has a power-play goal in three consecutive games.

How the Avalanche lineup will look:

FORWARDS
Ryan O'Reilly -- Matt Duchene -- Jamie McGinn
Gabriel Landeskog -- Paul Stastny -- PA Parenteau
Max Talbot -- Nathan MacKinnon -- John Mitchell
Cody McLeod -- Marc-Andre Cliche -- Patrick Bordeleau

DEFENSE
Jan Hejda -- Erik Johnson
Andre Benoit -- Nate Guenin
Nick Holden -- Tyson Barrie

GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov
Jean-Sebastien Giguere

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