Aleksander Barkov had one goal and two assists and Sergei Bobrovsky earned his third shutout of the season as the Florida Panthers defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-0 on Saturday night in Sunrise, Fla.
Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon, who entered Saturday ranked fifth in the NHL with 32 goals, got checked midway through the third period by Anton Lundell and tripped over the net, falling chin-first to the ice. MacKinnon went to the locker room and did not return.
The Panthers went 2-for-2 on the power play and killed off Colorado’s only man-advantage opportunity in a game that featured two All-Star goaltenders.
Bobrovsky, who leads the Eastern Conference in wins (25-10-2), made 35 saves for his fourth straight victory. The Panthers have allowed two goals or fewer in seven straight games.
Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Eetu Luostarinen added one goal apiece for Florida, which has won six of its past seven games.
Reinhart scored with the man advantage. He ranks second in the NHL with 39 goals, and he leads the league with 22 power-play tallies.
Matthew Tkachuk chipped in two assists. Barkov and Tkachuk are tied for the team lead in assists with 39 apiece.
Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev made 39 saves as the Avalanche ran their season-worst losing streak to four games.
The Avalanche are 0-for-13 on the power play in their past four games, all on the road.
Florida opened the scoring with 10:19 gone in the first period. After Logan O’Connor was sent off for tripping Gustav Forsling, the Panthers cashed in as Verhaeghe shoved in a rebound off his own shot. Barkov earned the primary assist.
The Panthers made it 2-0 with 3:04 left in the first. After Devon Toews was called for hooking Luostarinen, Reinhart scored on a one-timer from the slot. Tkachuk earned the primary assist.
Florida extended its lead to 3-0 with 2:08 left in the second. The play started with Dmitry Kulikov’s shot from the point. Georgiev made the save, but he coughed up a long rebound, and Luostarinen half-dove to his left to knock the puck into the net.
The Panthers made it 4-0 on Barkov’s goal with 10:40 left in the third. The play was set up by Verhaeghe’s steal deep in Colorado’s zone.
–Field Level Media
