Avalanche pull away from Panthers with 5 unanswered goals

DENVER -- Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist for the Colorado Avalanche in a 6-2 win against the Florida Panthers at Ball Arena on Thursday.

MacKinnon’s goal was the 392nd of his career, which moved him past Joe Sakic for the most in Avalanche history since the team relocated from Quebec for the 1995-96 season.

“I can't keep track of his milestones, because it seems like he's getting one every game,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “So, I don't even know which one you're talking about, but he was really good tonight. Like highly competitive at the point of the puck and patient with the puck, but still making plays, and making dangerous plays and difficult plays all night.”

Brock Nelson, Sam Malinski, and Gavin Brindley each also had a goal and had an assist, and Artturi Lehkonen and Gabriel Landeskog scored for the Avalanche (22-2-7), who have won 10 straight games on home ice. Josh Manson had two assists, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 23 saves.

“I would say we weren't necessarily full of juice, but we did a heck of a job pushing today, and it was fun to watch,” Blackwood said. “I feel like we just have good mojo here. Maybe we get our matchups on the line changes. I don't know, but it's fun. We buzz here.”

Noah Gregor and Mackie Samoskevich scored, and Daniil Tarasov made 36 saves for the Panthers (15-13-2), who had won three straight and had their four-game point streak end (3-0-1).

“You have nights like that in the NHL where you get beat and you get beat bad,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “We were behind it the entire night, right from the very start. That's it.

“I won’t look at this game again.”

Malinski gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 1:14 of the first period when his wrist shot from the top of the right circle went in off Tarasov.

“I've always liked the way he shot the puck and moved the puck. I was impressed with his defending tonight,” Bednar said. “There's a heaviness to his defending now. He's just more aggressive, more assertive, and confident in that role, and so he's spending less time in his own zone trying to get the puck stopped. He's just reading coverage quicker.”

Gregor tied it 1-1 at 7:21 with a wrist shot from just outside the crease that went over the shoulder of Blackwood. Gregor beat Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard through the neutral zone, cut to the net from the left dot, then outmuscled Girard and defenseman Devon Toews before the shot.

"It was nice. Haven't scored in a long time, so it's always good to score,” said Gregor, who last scored Dec. 17, 2024, as a member of the Ottawa Senators. “Just had a good jump on them and tried to make a good move to the net, and I was fortunate enough it went in.”

Nelson made it 2-1 at 18:30 when he located the rebound of Makar’s point shot at the right post and backhanded it off Tarasov's left toe and in.

“They hit us with some quickness, I think, and they're a dangerous team off the rush,” Panthers defenseman Seth Jones said. “If you're not dialed into being above the puck and being solid defensively, they're going to make you pay, and I think that's what happened early on in that game.”

Brindley extended the lead to 3-1 at 5:05 of the second period when he backhanded the rebound of Brent Burns’ shot past Tarasov's glove. Brindley and Burns were on a 2-on-1, and Burns’ wrist shot from the left circle caromed off Tarasov's left pad right to Brindley as he crashed the net.

“I felt good today and was pretty jacked up to play in a big game,” said Brindley, who missed the previous 10 games with a lower-body injury. “Just wanted to get back in there and help the team out in any way I can.”

MacKinnon made it 4-1 with a wrist shot from just below the blue line that went inside the right post at 7:18. Girard took the puck to the left wall and fed it back to MacKinnon up top for the shot through traffic.

Lehkonen made it 5-1 on a breakaway at 12:31. Brindley fed Lehkonen streaking out of the zone, and he beat Tarasov's blocker from the hash marks.

“I wasn't really expecting to get it, but [Toews] gave me the puck,” Brindley said. “Kind of just picked my head up and 'Lehky' was wide open. So, [heck] of a finish by him, and surprised he was that open.”

Necas appeared to have scored a power-play goal to make it 6-1 at 19:38, but Florida successfully challenged the play for offside.

Eetu Luostarinen looked to have cut it to 5-2 at 4:47 of the third period. He deflected Jack Studnicka’s tipped centering pass five-hole with his skate, but a review initiated by the Situation Room determined there was a distinct kicking motion and the goal was overturned.

Landeskog scored to make it 6-1 at 6:18 when he finished the rebound of Manson’s initial shot five-hole. Landeskog collected the rebound on his backhand and brought it to his forehand for the shot from the top of the crease.

Samoskevich cut it to 6-2 at 13:08, finishing A.J. Greer’s cross-crease pass into the open net.

“I don't know if we did a great job,” Gregor said. “We were in it for a period, and that was really it. It is tough coming to a building like this on a back-to-back (Florida defeated the Utah Mammoth 4-3 on Wednesday). They're obviously first place in the League for a reason. They're really hard to play against, but obviously not a great result.”

Joel Kiviranta left the game at 18:22 of the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return.

“‘Kivi’ has an upper-body injury,” Bednar said. “He'll get evaluated again tomorrow, and then we should be able to get a decent timeline on him. But nothing too serious.”

NOTES: MacKinnon scored his League-leading 25th goal of the season. He tied Peter Stastny (31 games in 1987-88 and 1982-83) and Marian Stastny (31 games in 1982-83) for the second-fewest games in Avalanche/Nordiques history to reach the mark, behind Michel Goulet (28 games in 1985-86). … The Avalanche (22-2-7, 51 points) became the sixth team in the last 20 years with 50 points in 31 or fewer games, joining the Chicago Blackhawks (29 games in 2012-13), San Jose Sharks (29 games in 2008-09), Boston Bruins (30 games in 2022-23), Buffalo Sabres (31 games in 2006-07) and Anaheim Ducks (31 games in 2006-07). … Colorado’s 10-game home winning streak is tied for the third-longest in Avalanche/Nordiques history.