Panthers shut out Avalanche, hand them 4th straight loss

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Sergei Bobrovsky made 35 saves to help the Florida Panthers hand the Colorado Avalanche their fourth straight loss, 4-0 at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

The shutout was Bobrovsky’s third of the season and 41st of his NHL career.

“You try to stay in the moment, make one save at a time,’’ Bobrovsky said. ‘’You never know because that team has great players. But I am really happy. The guys did a great job in front of me. They did not give much. It was a pleasure to play, great performance for us.”

Aleksander Barkov scored his first goal in 19 games and had two assists for the Panthers (33-15-4), who have won six of their past seven. Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist, and Matthew Tkachuk had two assists.

Florida coach Paul Maurice got his 850th win, passing Ken Hitchcock for sole possession of fifth place in NHL history.

“We played a very solid 60-minute game,” said Barkov, the Panthers captain. “What impressed me was, even though we were up 4-0 in the third, we were still trying to make the right plays. We did not try to open it up, cheat to get a fifth goal. And, obviously, ‘Bob’ was there every time we needed him.”

Alexandar Georgiev made 39 saves for the Avalanche (32-17-4).

Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon left the game midway through the third period after falling face first onto the ice behind Florida's net.

“I have not talked to the trainers yet,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “You saw the player hit his chin on the ice. He got cut open a little bit, went in for some work, but I do not have an update.”

Verhaeghe put the Panthers ahead 1-0 at 10:19 of the first period when he followed up his own rebound with a backhand.

That came after Bobrovsky kept the game scoreless in the opening minutes, when Colorado outshot Florida 6-0 in the first 4:49, which included a power play.

“Oh man, that changes everything right there,” Maurice said. “They are the highest-scoring team in the NHL, and if they come out feeling good in those first five minutes because they score on the opening power play, you have a different animal to deal with.”

Sam Reinhart made it 2-0 at 16:56 with his NHL-leading 22nd power-play goal. He one-timed a shot in the slot off a pass from Tkachuk, who has assisted on 16 of Reinhart’s goals on the man-advantage.

Eetu Luostarinen pushed the lead to 3-0 at 17:52 of the second period, scoring on a rebound in the slot.

Barkov made it 4-0 at 9:20 of the third period, taking a pass from Verhaeghe in the slot following a Colorado turnover. It was his first goal since Dec. 16.

“I thought we did a good job in the second and third periods where we did not come off the puck,” Maurice said. “We did not sit on [the lead] but we did not force it. We had some good zone time in the second, and that can wear a team down.”

Colorado, which is on its longest skid since losing five straight from Dec. 27, 2022-Jan. 5, 2023, has two games remaining on a six-game road trip, its longest of the season.

“We had some good stretches in these four games but have not put a full 60 together, obviously, against four real good teams,” Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen said. “It’s not always easy in their building, especially if you’re not feeling it. We have been through this previously. We know how to get out of it.”

Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar said they were swarmed by Florida, which swept the two-game season series by a score of 12-4.

“I felt like they were all over us in every aspect of the game,” Makar said. “We have to stick to our path. They kind of took over and we were chasing it.”

NOTES: Jack Johnson of Colorado played his 1,158th NHL game, passing Eric Weinrich for the seventh-most by a United States-born defenseman. … Barkov has 51 points (12 goals, 39 assists) this season, tying former Florida captain Olli Jokinen for the second-most consecutive 50-point seasons by a Finland-born player in NHL history (nine). Jokinen did it from 2002-12. Jari Kurri had 10 such seasons from 1980-90. … Barkov also had his 50th 3-point game, passing Jonathan Huberdeau for the most in Panthers history. He has 22 points in his past 19 games despite scoring just the one goal. … Maurice is 850-727-142 with 99 ties in 1,818 NHL games with the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and Panthers.