The loss dropped Colorado to 0-3-1 in its last four games and 2-5-1 overall.
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ABOUT THE PANTHERS (4-3-1): Nick Bjugstad took Barkov’s spot on the top line between Jaromir Jagr and Jonathan Huberdeau on Saturday, and the trio clicked for six points.
Vincent Trocheck had two-thirds of a hat trick, scoring both goals with the man-advantage, and Reilly Smith added a third power-play goal midway through the third period. Undoubtedly, the opportunity to capitalize was the major difference. Clearly the big story of the game: 3/3 on the power play, 5/5 on the penalty kill (including a Brian Campbell short-handed goal and a killed-off 5-on-3).
Afterward, Avs coach Patrick Roy wasn’t almost as steamed as the army of furious fans beating him down on social media.
Tweaked Jagr. Jagr played only 2:30 in the first period, went into the locker room, and didn’t come back to the bench.
“Five-on-five, we were 1-0 up”.
“It’s not the way we want to start it”, Roy said. “I thought we managed our game well. Because we’re doing a lot of good things out there”. It’s the way it is right now. Tonight our 5-on-5 does well and our power play and PK do not.
Fortunately for Florida, Trocheck provided the energy and shooting touch needed for its second consecutive win. In a game that saw zero even-strength goals until the last minute, Colorado simply didn’t execute well enough on special teams to earn a victory. “We didn’t do that”, Johnson said. “If the power play isn’t going to score, we have to generate momentum, at least”. The Avalanche just didn’t seem that risky on any of their man-advantages, as Luongo was able to see and stop any chances that weren’t already stifled by the Panthers defense. “We’re in the results business, and we need to find a way to win”.
Trocheck made it 2-0 just 2:58 into the third period, and Smith struck at 9:49. Both times, Avs defenseman Francois Beauchemin was in the penalty box, for tripping and cross checking, respectively. To make matters worse, the Panthers would draw a holding penalty on Alex Tanguay with 1:23 left in the period, and score with just over 19 seconds left on a confounding 1-on-3 rush through the neutral zone.
Colorado has produced nine goals in its last five contests after opening the season by scoring 10 times in its first two games and is averaging fewer than 26 shots, which ranks near the bottom of the National Hockey League.
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He took the puck from the Florida zone and caught the Avalanche flat-footed as he weaved into the offensive zone before snapping a sharp wrist shot from the right faceoff circle past a surprised Reto Berra.
