Avalanche explode for seven goals to rout Panthers
SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Colorado Avalanche scored four straight goals -- including two within 41 seconds -- to snap a four-game losing streak with a 7-3 win against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night at the BB&T Center.
Semyon Varlamov made 39 saves to earn the win.
The Avalanche (13-13-2) got goals from Mikko Rantanen, a tying score from Nathan MacKinnon, a go-ahead deflection from Alexander Kerfoot, insurance markers by Erik Johnson and Colin Wilson and empty-netters by Matt Nieto and Carl Soderberg.
Florida (11-14-4) got goals from Aaron Ekblad, Denis Malgin and Jonathan Huberdeau but was unable to avoid its fourth loss in the past five games. Malgin has four goals this season -- all of them within the past six games.
MacKinnon, a center and the first overall draft pick in 2013, won his duel with Ekblad, a defenseman and the first overall selection in 2014.
James Reimer (23 saves) took the loss.
After the teams split the first two goals, the Panthers went ahead 2-1 on Malgin's breakaway goal with 4:51 expired in the second period. Unleashed by a Jamie McGinn pass, Malgin raced in and beat Varlamov glove-side.
Colorado tied the score on MacKinnon's goal. Twenty seconds after Colorado had killed off a J.T. Compher slashing penalty, MacKinnon skated right down the middle of Florida's defense before lifting the puck over Reimer's glove. Compher, ironically, got the primary assist.
The Avalanche took a 3-2 lead just 41 seconds later. Tyson Barrie, standing just inside the blue line, fired a 62-footer that went in off of teammate Kerfoot, who had set up a screen and was battling Panthers defenseman Ian McCoshen.
Johnson's goal, with 11:59 expired in the third, came on a drop pass from Nieto. Johnson's shot deflected off of Florida rookie forward Dryden Hunt.
Colorado scored twice -- goals by Johnson and Wilson -- within two minutes in the third, taking a 5-2 lead.
Florida pulled Reimer for an extra attacker and got the goal by Huberdeau to cut its deficit to 5-3. But Colorado made the Panthers pay with those two empty-netters, clinching the win.
NOTES: Colorado killed off a four-minute, double-minor penalty in the second after D Tyson Barrie high-sticked Florida C Denis Malgin, drawing blood. Florida got three shots on goal during that power play. ... Panthers C Aleksander Barkov, who was hit in the jaw/face by the shoulder of Winnipeg's Jacob Trouba on Thursday, missed the game but could return on Monday at Detroit. ... Panthers RW Evgenii Dadonov (shoulder) missed his seventh straight game but is skating and could return next week. ... Panthers LW Micheal Haley leads the NHL this season with seven fights. When he scored the tiebreaking goal on Thursday, it was just his seventh goal in parts of eight NHL seasons. ... Colorado, building for the future, has nine picks in the first three rounds of the next two drafts.