Brad Boyes, Florida Panthers defeat Colorado Avalanche in overtime
By Andrew Dill
Oct 21, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) shoots on Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo (1) in the second period at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Colorado Avalanche suffered an overtime loss Tuesday night at the hands of the Florida Panthers (yes, the Florida Panthers) as Brad Boyes delivered the game-winner to earn the 4-3 victory.
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The first period didn’t have very much positives for the Avalanche. Florida recorded the first goal of the game on a Ryan Wilson turnover as Brandon Pirri took an uncontested slapshot on net, beating Avs’ goalie Reto Berra. Florida could have easily had a three-to-five goal lead in the first but Berra held his ground for the most part.
Players on the Avs’ were out of place, referring to defenseman Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie. Both were exploited by the Florida forwards, letting them get position in front of the net. Luckily for Colorado, Florida didn’t take advantage the situation.
Moving on, the Avs’ were beat on a four-on-two later on in the first period as Aaron Ekblad found Aleksander Barkov on a two-on-one for the easy goal. Florida took a 2-0 lead over the Avalanche heading into the first intermission.
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At the 10:56 mark in the second period, the Avs’ caught a break. Panthers winger Brad Boyes committed a high-sticking penalty sending the Avalanche on a power-play. To add on top of that, Florida was called for a delay-of-game penalty for dumping the puck over the glass. Colorado had the luxury of going on a 5-on-3 for nearly 1:02.
With less than 15 seconds to go on the 5-on-3, defenseman Tyson Barrie recorded the power-play goal with a slapshot beating Roberto Luongo. Ryan O’Reilly and Matt Duchene picked up the assists as Colorado brought the lead down to one. With some time still remaining on their original power-play, Gabriel Landeskog beat Luongo top shelf to tie it up at two apiece. Colorado suddenly sparked the fans at the Pepsi Center, scoring two unanswered goals on the power-play.
Suddenly, their was a change in momentum. After a Florida turnover, Alex Tanguay found Jarome Iginla in front of the net as Iginla seemingly tipped it in. Colorado took the 3-2 lead as the Pepsi Center erupted — three unanswered goals. Florida however, responded as a shot from Dylan Olsen deflected off of Sean Bergenheim in front of the net, beating Berra to tie it up at three.
Entering the third period, Colorado had 1:02 minutes remaining on the power-play which sent Sean Bergenheim to the box for hooking. After the penalty was killed off, Daniel Briere of the Avs’ was called for for a 2:00 minute minor for tripping — Colorado’s unit killed of the power-play as well.
After a scoreless third period, the two teams had to battle it out in overtime to claim two points instead of just one. With 3:34 remaining in the overtime period, Brad Stuart committed a tripping penalty, sending the Panthers on a 5-on-4 for two minutes. It was a costly one too as Brad Boyes delivered the game-winner to give the Panthers an extra point.
The Colorado Avalanche (1-4-2) return to action Friday night where they take on the Vancouver Canucks. Puck-drop is scheduled for 9:00 PM EST, 7:00 PM MST.