Game 50 Preview: Colorado Avalanche (31-13-5) vs. Florida Panthers (20-23-7)
By Andrew Dill
Oct 19, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) celebrates his goal against the Buffalo Sabres with defenseman Nate Guenin (5) and left wing Alex Tanguay (40) during the first period at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
The Colorado Avalanche (31-13-5) are coming off of a bizarre night in the net from Semyon Varlamov who was pulled for Jean-Sebastien Giguere in the 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. Leafs forward Phil Kessel was too much for the Avalanche as he would score two of the teams five goals. Avs rookie Nathan MacKinnon is on fire for the Avalanche as he collected both goals in the defeat. P.A. Parenteau returned from his 10-game absence with a knee injury which will be a big offensive piece for the Avalanche moving forward.
What: Regular Season: Colorado Avalanche vs. Florida Panthers
When: Friday, January 24th
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Florida
Time: 7:30 PM ET, 5:30 PM MT
TV: Altitude Sports
This is the second and final meeting between the Western and Eastern Conference teams. Florida would come into Denver and surprise the Avalanche coming away with the 4-1 win. Panthers forward Tom Gilbert would earn the first star of the night as he collected assists on goals from Brady Boyes, Brian Campbell, and Tomas Kopecky. His teammate Scottie Upshall would collect two assists of his own in the victory. Avalanche forward Ryan O’Reilly would collect the lone goal for the team in defeat. Panthers goaltender Tim Thomas was solid on the night as he was 32-of-33 on save opportunities, .970% save percentage.
The Colorado Avalanche will be getting a key piece of their offense back tonight as forward Alex Tanguay returns to the line-up. Tanguay would be activated Wednesday afternoon as he was cleared by the club after missing 36 games due to a knee/hip injury that occurred on November 2nd against the Montreal Canadiens. Tanguay’s activation would lead to Brad Malone getting reassigned by to the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League. Colorado just recently got P.A. Parenteau back into the line-up as the team is getting healthy at the right time. Here is what captain Gabriel Landeskog had to say about the injuries via ESPN:
"“We’ve gone through a rough patch with injuries and we’ve still managed to play some pretty good hockey and managed to pull out some wins,” forward Gabriel Landeskog told the team’s official website. “Getting these guys back gives us even more offensive power and depth. They’re certainly going to help us on the power play and to spread the scoring a little bit as well. They’re pretty hungry and eager to get back.”"
Projected Starting Goaltenders:
Colorado Avalanche: Semyon Varlamov: 24-9-5, 2.39 GAA.
Florida Panthers: Tim Thomas: 13-13-3, 2.59 GAA.
Team Leaders:
Points:
Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene, 41.
Florida Panthers: Aleksander Barkov, 24.
Goals:
Colorado Avalanche: Ryan O’Reilly, 18.
Florida Panthers: Brad Boyes, 12.
Assists:
Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene, 24.
Florida Panthers: Tom Gilbert, 18.
Penalty Minutes:
Colorado Avalanche: Cody McLeod, 87.
Florida Panthers: Erik Gudbranson, 76.
Shots on Net:
Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene, 149.
Florida Panthers: Tomas Fleischmann, 122.