Panthers at Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche look to halt their first losing streak of the season when they host the Florida Panthers on Saturday. Colorado got off to a tremendous start under first-year coach Patrick Roy, opening the season with six straight wins and capturing 14 of its first 16 games. But the Avalanche followed a 2-1 setback at Carolina with a clunker in St. Louis on Thursday, when the Blues broke open a tie game with five consecutive goals en route to a 7-3 triumph.
Florida's road woes continued Friday as it dropped a 3-2 decision at Minnesota after rallying from a two-goal deficit to forge a tie. The Panthers fell to 0-8-1 away from home since winning their season opener in Dallas and 1-6-4 in their last 11 overall contests. The coaching change has yet to produce results for Florida, as the club is 1-3-0 under interim coach Peter Horachek.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN (Florida), Altitude 2 (Colorado)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (4-12-4): As Florida began its five-game road trip with another loss, Marcel Goc came up with a dominant performance in the faceoff circles. Goc won 13 of his 15 draws while the rest of the team went 12-25. Tomas Kopecky scored his first goal of the campaign, ending a 28-game drought that dated back to April 6.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (14-4-0): Colorado's penalty kill finally let its guard down on the road Thursday as St. Louis went 3-for-4 on the power play. The Avalanche had been a perfect 20-for-20 on the penalty kill over their first seven games away from home. "The puck bounced well for them on their power play," Roy said. Paul Stastny enters Saturday's contest with a five-game point streak, while captain Gabriel Landeskog has notched a point in three straight games.
OVERTIME
1. Florida has scored three goals or fewer in 15 straight games since posting a 6-3 victory over Pittsburgh on Oct. 11.
2. The Avalanche have had 11 different players score a game-winning goal this season, with C Matt Duchene leading the way with three.
3. Panthers C Jesse Winchester returned from a three-game suspension Friday and notched an assist, giving him a point in four straight contests.