After scoring 21 goals over their last three games, Colorado ranks first in the league on offense with an average of 4.38 goals per contest, while Florida sits in second with an average of 3.77.
"They've got speed," Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling said of the Avalanche's potent attack. "They've got some guys that can skate really well. We've got to be ready on the rush."
Earning three out of a possible four points through the first two stops of their three-game trip, the Panthers are coming off a 3-1 win in Arizona on Friday. Taking care of business against the Coyotes, Patric Hornqvist, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart found the back of the net for the Panthers, while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 22 of 23 shots to pick up his 12th win of the season.
Getting the nod in net once again tonight, Bobrovsky owns a .922 save percentage.
"He was excellent," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said of Bobrovsky after the win in Arizona. "You can tell a lot of times when he's zoned in, and I thought he was zoned in."
Cracking the scoresheet in 11 of his last 12 games, Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Panthers in scoring with 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists).
After him, Aaron Ekblad is second with 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists), which also places him tied for fifth among NHL defensemen in scoring. After leaving in the third period of Tuesday's overtime loss in St. Louis, Panthers star captain Aleksander Barkov was absent from Saturday's practice and isn't expected to suit up against the Avalanche. Additionally, Maxim Mamin is also day-to-day with an injury suffered in Arizona.
Sidelined for the last seven games, Anthony Duclair, who is tied for second on the Panthers with nine goals despite that extended absence, will be a game-time decision, according to Brunette.
Sitting in first place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 18-4-4, the Panthers have scored at least three goals in each of their last five games while posting a 4-0-1 record during that stretch.
In their first meeting with Colorado back on Oct. 21, Reinhart, Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe and Anton Lundell scored, while Bobrovsky made 30 saves to lead Florida to a 4-1 win in Sunrise.
"We have to have a bit of a checking mentality," Brunette said when asked about the keys to tonight's rematch. "We played with one in the third period last night [in Arizona]. They come in waves kind of like we do, and we had a fun game earlier in the season."
In fourth place in the Central Division with a record of 15-7-2, the Avalanche has won seven of its last 10 games and enter tonight's matchup on a three-game winning streak. Scoring seven goals in each game during that streak, they're the first team to accomplish that feat since 1995.
On Friday, Andre Burakovsky scored a pair of goals, Devon Toews dished out three assists, and Darcy Kuemper stopped 37 of 40 shots to lead Colorado to a 7-3 win over the Red Wings.
"I think we're just hungry around the net," Burakovsky said after the win. "We're putting pucks there, we talk a lot about we want to shoot and crash the net and put bodies there. I think we've been doing that pretty good lately. We just want to continue to do that."
Despite missing that game due to a lower-body injury suffered on Wednesday, Nazem Kadri, who is currently listed as day-to-day, leads the Avalanche and ranks fourth in the league in scoring with 23 points (11 goals, 23 assists). After him, four other players have registered at least 20 points: Gabriel Landeskog (27), Cale Makar (25), Mikko Rantanen (24) and Toews (20).
After suffering an injury against Detroit, Landeskog is expected to be out roughly two weeks. Looking to throw a wet blanket on Colorado's red-hot offense, the Panthers, who are the top-possession team in the NHL at 5-on-5 play, want to hold onto the puck as much as possible.
"We want to play our game, which is to have the puck," Brunette said. "When we don't have it, we want to work really hard to get it back. That doesn't change at all. We want to play fast and do the right things. For us, we get into a bit of trouble when we don't manage the puck properly."
