MacKinnon Gets Avs Past Panthers

For most players, going two games without a point is not a slump. But after Nathan MacKinnon was held off the scoresheet in his last two contests, he emerged with his third multi-goal outing of the season.
The Colorado Avalanche returned to Pepsi Center from a four-game road trip on Thursday night and defeated the Florida Panthers 2-1. MacKinnon scored both of Colorado's goals.

"I know it's cliché, but I went a couple of games without a point on that road trip," said MacKinnon. "I just wanted to have some confidence, stick with it and be aggressive and obviously it's working."
The Avalanche utilized a non-traditional lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen in the victory. Before the game, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said that part of the reason for that alignment was to get more ice time for MacKinnon.
The extra ice time and inserting the young forward onto multiple lines worked.

MacKinnon got Colorado on the board first with a one-timer that he fired past Florida netminder James Reimer after receiving a cross-ice pass from Tyson Barrie. The forward was on the ice centering the teams "fourth line" with Tyson Jost and Gabriel Bourque.
He netted his second of the game in the third period, the game-winning goal, while skating with his typical linemates, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen.
"I think that line, Nate in particular was unhappy with his last game," said Bednar. "That was a hungry and determined line tonight, MacK especially. Playing the 11 forwards, he doubled up almost the whole game and made the most of his ice time, for sure."
This is the third time this season that MacKinnon has found the back of the net more than once in a contest and he continues to lead the team in goals (13), assists (22), points (35) and game-winning markers (4).
During the first period, Colorado outshot the Panthers 16-12, but eight of those shots came during two power-play opportunities at the end of the stanza.
"I thought we had a bit of a slow start, it's kind of been our Achilles heel lately, but the last 10 of the first we were buzzing," MacKinnon said. "Obviously in the second, we really outplayed them. When you are up one, the other team is going to press, I mean Florida did that. We did a good job I think overall playing good defense, but I mean we definitely can clean up a little bit but it's exciting for sure."
Colorado did not register its first shot on goal until Nikita Zadorov fired a slap shot on net at 6:49 of the first period after Florida had already recorded six shots.
"It was a real cautious start. When we are not skating and being the aggressors, we tend to give up some scoring chances and I didn't like the scoring chances we gave up in the first," said Bednar. "There were shots and then they beat us to the rebound and got some real good quality looks from the slot."

Goaltender Semyon Varlamov was between the pipes for the Avalanche, and he made some big saves in the first period to keep the game scoreless.
"It's always important to start the game well, you know, make a couple saves," said Varlamov. "It gives the team confidence when they see the goalie is ready for the game."
The netminder made 32 saves in the contest, including stopping all 13 shots he faced in the third period.
"What [Varlamov] did was he gave us a chance to get our legs underneath us and get a little bit more intensity to our game. I really liked our second period," said Bednar. "Our 5-on-5 play and our forecheck and our O-zone play in the second period, we were in there the whole time. I thought the score, we could have had a few more if it wasn't for their goalie. And then the third, we traded and you knew they were going to have a push once we went up one in the third."

The win wrapped up the Avalanche's two-game season series with Florida, as Colorado completed its second series sweep of the campaign.
"By the end of this month, we need to be in the playoff picture," Varlamov said. "It will be easier to make the playoffs. If you are six or eight points out of the playoffs by beginning of January, it is hard to play catch up hockey in this league."
Colorado continues its home play on Saturday night against the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.

BARBERIO'S FOUR-GAME STREAK

Mark Barberio assisted on Nathan MacKinnon's second marker of the contest to extend his point streak to four games, a career high.
He has recorded one goal and three assists since Dec. 7 and is now third among Avalanche defensemen in scoring with eight points (two goals, six assists).
Prior to his current streak, Barberio's longest stretch was three games set March 10-15, 2016 when the blueliner was with the Montreal Canadiens.

KERFOOT UPDATE

Forward Alex Kerfoot missed the second contest in a row after hurting his foot on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins when he accidentally blocked teammate Erik Johnson's shot.
"The swelling in his foot is starting to go down so he is feeling better," Bednar said after the team's morning skate. "He felt a little bit better yesterday and even better today, but he is still day-to-day. He is getting evaluated every morning, and we will see when he is able to get back on this ice."
Although he should only be out of the lineup for a short time, Bednar said it is not likely that he will play in the Avs' next contest when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.