Colorado Avalanche Looking for a Repeat Win vs Florida Panthers
The Colorado Avalanche would like to return to their winning ways against the Florida Panthers tonight.
The Colorado Avalanche are back to .500 hockey. During their recent four-game road trip, they dipped under .500 then went one game over .500, but now they’re back to even-Stevens with a 14-14-2 record.
Part of the Avalanche’s road trip included beating the Panthers 7-2. Now, that score is a little skewed because it included empty net goal by both Matthew Nieto and Carl Soderberg. Even a 5-2 score represents a nice victory.
Other goal scorers for the Colorado Avalanche include Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon (that was his filthy goal in which he split the Panthers’ defense), Alexander Kerfoot, Erik Johnson and Colin Wilson, who netted his second of the year.
Colorado would love a repeat performance tonight — any old win will do. The Avalanche are coming off of a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals. The Panthers got beaten in overtime by the Chicago Blackhawks.
How to Enjoy the Game
Game time: December 14 , 7:00 pm MT
TV Networks: Altitude TV (Avs feed), FS-W (Cats feed)
Radio: Altitude Radio (AM 950)
Heating MacKinnon Back Up
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After center Nathan MacKinnon’s magical November of 20 points in 12 games, he’s cooled down a little bit. That’s not to say he’s cold, but so far in December he has just five points (3 goals, 2 assists) in seven games. He hasn’t recorded any points in the last two games.
MacKinnon can’t bear the weight of the team on his shoulders. However, his line is similarly cold. Mikko Rantanen also has five points (2 goals, 3 assists) in November. Gabriel Landeskog missed three December games because of suspension. He has a goal and an assist in the last five games with nothing in the last two.
We definitely want to see this line heat up again. Tonight against the Florida Panthers would be a good time to start.
Solving The Rookies
The other group we’d all love to see get going is the rookies. As I explored in a previous post, I’m not convinced the Rookie Line of J.T. Compher, Alexander Kerfoot and Tyson Jost is working out. Compher and Jost play better without Kerfoot, who plays especially well with Colin Wilson.
Kerfoot missed the game against the Capitals with a bruised foot after getting hit with an Erik Johnson slap shot. At the time of writing, he was still listed as day-to-day.
Jost got a goal in the game against the Capitals, a nifty little backhander. That’s just his second goal and third point in 14 games. Compher has 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 24 games. He’s had a lot of really good looks lately, especially on the breakaway.
I’m sure most of us here in Avs Nation would love to see defenseman Samuel Girard score his first goal for the team. He has two assists in 16 games.
Next: Should Jost be Sent to the AHL?
This is the second and final meeting of the year for the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers.