Avalanche Game 41 vs Florida Panthers, Halfway Through! Lines, Notes, & How to Watch

The Colorado Avalanche (24-15-1) complete their four-game homestand looking to get back in the winning column with a matchup against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers (24-14-2). Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 p.m. MT.

READ MORE: Is Gabriel Landeskog Actually Nearing a Return? 

The Avalanche saw their six-game winning streak end against Montreal on Saturday. They led 1-0 entering the third period but lost 2-1 in the shootout. It was the first time all season that Colorado didn’t win a game it led entering the third period. And it’s also the first OT or shootout loss of the season. The good news is they still gained a point in the standings.

Against the Panthers, the Avs have a chance to reach 25 wins at the halfway mark of the season, which is something head coach Jared Bednar references as a team goal after morning skate.

“The goal is to get to 50 wins every year,” Bednar said.

Last year they had 26 wins through 41 games. Coincidentally, Colorado also hosted the Panthers on Jan. 6 a year ago — an 8-4 loss in what ended up being the last game of Ivan Prosvetov’s career with the Avs.

Mackenzie Blackwood is back in goal and the lineup will look nearly identical to the one that lost to Montreal. The only difference is Tye Felhaber filling in on the fourth line instead of Oskar Olausson. Colorado was 1-for-5 on the power play against the Habs. As is normally the case, the team spent a large portion of the morning skate focusing on special teams, albeit Jonathan Drouin was absent from skate. He’ll be in the lineup, Bednar confirmed.

The Avs won the first game of the season series back on Nov. 23, defeating the Panthers 7-4 in a high-scoring affair. Drouin led the way with two goals and Alexandar Georgiev recorded one of his last wins in an Avalanche uniform.

READ MORE: 10 Observations: The Avalanche let Montreal Hang Around For Too Long

Florida enters the matchup with almost the same record as the Avs. Paul Maurice’s club is also searching for its 25th win halfway through the regular season. They lead Colorado by a point in the standings because they have two OT losses instead of one.

In their last game on Friday, the Panthers won 3-2 in the shootout against Pittsburgh in the second half of a back-to-back. They’ve been wildly inconsistent for about a month though. In December, Florida was shut out four times in 15 days. They failed to score a goal in consecutive games on two occasions. The first set was on the road at Calgary and Vancouver but the second set was at home against Tampa Bay and Montreal. Jakub Dobes, who just beat the Avs, was in goal for the Habs and made his NHL debut with a shutout victory.

Sergei Bobrovsky gets the nod in goal. He’s 17-8-1 but with a .899 save percentage. If he ends the season below .900, it would be the first time he doesn’t reach that mark since his second season in the league in 2011-12.

READ MORE: What Went Wrong For Avalanche vs Habs; McLellan Elevates Detroit; Miller vs Pettersson

Season Series

• Nov. 23 at Florida Panthers (W, 7-4)
• Jan. 6 vs Florida Panthers

Avalanche Injuries

• Scott Wedgewood (lower body, week-to-week)
• Valeri Nichushkin (lower body, day-to-day)
• Ivan Ivan (upper body, week-to-week)
• Oliver Kylington (upper body, IR)
• Miles Wood (upper body, LTIR)
• Gabriel Landeskog (knee, no timetable)

Projected Avalanche Lines (subject to change)

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen
Jonathan Drouin — Casey Mittelstadt — Ross Colton
Joel Kiviranta – Parker Kelly – Logan O’Connor
Jere Innala — Juuso Parssinen — Tye Felhaber

Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Samuel Girard — Josh Manson
Keaton Middleton — Sam Malinski

Mackenzie Blackwood
Trent Miner

Projected Starters (subject to change)

• Confirmed: Mackenzie Blackwood (COL)
• Confirmed: Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA)

Upcoming Milestones

• Jonathan Drouin — needs 1 goal for 100
• Cale Makar — needs 1 goal for 100
• Nathan MacKinnon — needs 4 PPG for 100
• Casey Mittelstadt — needs 3 games for 400
• Devon Toews — needs 4 assists for 200
• Ross Colton — needs 7 games for 300
• Logan O’Connor — needs 8 points for 100