Recap: Toews’ Two Tallies leads Avalanche over Panthers
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
One final win secured before the road trip. After a lackluster shootout loss in their last contest, the Colorado Avalanche were hoping to get back on the right track against the defending champion Florida Panthers. The message was received as the Avalanche survived a goaltender duel and took a third period lead and secured a 3-1 victory over Florida.
The Game
Slow starts have plagued the Avalanche this season but they got off on the right foot in this one. They generated a hefty amount of shots on goal but could not convert on two first period power plays. Florida, however, would be the team who scored in the first period despite getting outshot 11-4. Carter Verhaeghe took advantage of a 2-on-1 at 15:57 to take the 1-0 lead and that’s how the first period ended.
Florida isn’t shy about taking penalties so they were content to give the home team another power play but the Avalanche still couldn’t cash in. So instead they gave a Florida power play of their own and the subsequent successful kill gave the Avalanche a little momentum. Nathan MacKinnon hit the post and shortly after Devon Toews did the same but the puck dropped on to Sergei Bobrovsky’s backside and into the net at 18:18. That tied the game 1-1 and at the end of 40 minutes of play as well.
The third period saw the Avalanche receive an early power play and although they didn’t score on it, Devon Toews found the back of the net for the second time this contest as the second unit was still on the ice to give the Avalanche their first lead in the game at 8:54. Mikko Rantanen punctuated the win with an empty net goal with just under two minutes to play. The game ended in a 3-1 final for Colorado as they wrap up a successful homestand.
Takeaways
Mikko Rantanen is quietly having a spectacular season and keeps his bid for 50 goals alive with his seventh empty net goal of the season. The NHL record is nine goals, so Rantanen has half a season left to break that record. He also extended his point streak to 14 games and remains third in the league in scoring with 58 points and 24 goals.
Keaton Middleton only saw five shifts the rest of the game for a total of seven minutes after he was on ice for and didn’t execute the best coverage on Florida’s goal in the first period. With the bottom of the roster still in major flux it’s a wonder if there will be any changes made before embarking on the road trip.
Upcoming
The Avalanche begin a three-game road trip at the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, January 8th at 5:30 p.m. MT. ...
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