The Avalanche unraveled almost immediately and never recovered, stumbling to a lopsided 7–3 loss in Montreal as recent struggles continued to overshadow their once-dominant start.

The Colorado Avalanche struggled in all phases Thursday night and got blown out, 7-3, by the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre.

The Colorado Avalanche visit the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at the Bell Centre on a road back-to-back.

The colors on the ice were beautiful. The on-ice play from the Avalanche was far from it. Colorado gave up four unanswered goals after both teams traded early markers on their way to a 7-3 loss at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens in the Bell Center.

This is the NHL’s best team?: One night after Ottawa scored five on Colorado, the Canadiens put a seven-spot on the Avalanche, tying their season-high in goals. Colorado still has an NHL-best record of 35-8-9, but lost a second-consecutive game for the fourth time this season, and all of those mini slumps have come in January.

Colorado was sloppy from the opening faceoff of the third period, and it quickly came back to bite them. Repeated puck mismanagement handed the Flyers momentum, and Philadelphia made the Avalanche pay. Owen Tippett scored his second of the night, followed by a Matvei Michkov tally, giving the Flyers a 5–3 cushion.

The Colorado Avalanche were stunned by the Philadelphia Flyers, 7-3 at Ball Arena. The Flyers scored six times on Mackenzie Blackwood including a hat trick from Owen Tippett.

A pair of the NHL's best offensive options meet when the Colorado Avalanche (35-7-9) and Nathan MacKinnon (38 goals and 50 assists) visit the Montreal Canadiens (29-17-7) and Nicholas Suzuki (16 goals and 43 assists) at Bell Centre on Thursday,