Losing streak halted at four
2 goals in 47-second span help solid game
SUNRISE, FLA.» For an Avalanche team that had lost its last four games and hadn’t scored more than two goals in regulation in its last seven, winning 7-3 at the Florida Panthers on Saturday night was sweet relief.
Colorado’s last two goals were scored on an empty-net, but the first five were of the satisfying workmanlike variety — and two came in 47 seconds during the pivotal second period.
Nathan Mackinnon and Alex Kerfoot scored in quick succession to give the Avs a 3-2 lead, and Erik Johnson and Colin Wilson added third-period insurance goals.
Colorado, which led 1-0 early behind Mikko Rantanen’s goal, added empty-netters from Matt Nieto and Carl Soderberg after the Panthers got within 5-3.
Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov (39 saves) won for the first time since Nov. 29.
“When you lose a handful in a row, you have to just stick with the process, and I think that’s what our guys did tonight,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said.
Except for a six-minute stretch from late in the first period to early in the second — a span when Colorado defensemen struggled to keep the puck in front of them — the Avs put together a solid road game.
Mackinnon and Kerfoot scored to turn Florida’s 2-1 lead into a 3-2 deficit.
Mackinnon deftly split the Panthers’ two defensemen and scored with a flick of the wrist from the doorstep at 11:26 of the second period, and Kerfoot redirected Tyson Barrie’s wrister from the point at 12:07. Barrie’s shot came off a give-and-go with Rantanen.
“We definitely deserve this one. It’s been tough lately. We just had a really solid game tonight,” said Mackinnon, who now has a teamleading 11 goals. “We got a couple empty-netters at the end, but we scored five legit ones, which is good for us. Every line chipped in tonight, and we need four lines to contribute if we’re going to make a push here. And this was a step in the right direction.”
Florida took its lead with goals from defenseman Aaron Ekblad and winger Denis Malgin. Ekblad
scored with a one-time blast in the final seconds of the first period, and Malgin struck on a breakaway early in the second.
Late in the first period, the Avs had produced 14 of the game’s 18 shots and had taken the early lead on Rantanen’s goal 10:56 into the game. Rantanen turned and fired on a loose puck at the side of the crease, landing his ninth goal of the season.
Barrie was whistled for a highsticking double-minor, but the Avs killed that off at the end of the second period.
“Even when we fell behind, we continued to push. We did some good things,” Bednar said. “We got a rebound goal from Rantanen. We got a screened shot from Barrie (on Kerfoot’s goal). We killed that four-minute power play at the end of the second period. That gave us confidence. We gave up some odd-man rushes, but Varly was solid in goal.”
Johnson left the ice late in the third period after blocking a shot. Bednar didn’t have an update on his injury.
The Avs, who will take Sunday off, were scheduled to depart for Pittsburgh after the game. They will play the Penguins, the twotime defending Stanley Cup champions, on Monday and play the Washington Capitals on Tuesday to complete the four-game trip that began with Thursday’s 5-2 loss at Tampa Bay.