The Florida Panthers learned Tuesday night that no lead is too comfortable. After falling victim to a three-goal comeback from the Avalanche, the Panthers rallied just in time to claim a 5-4 snatch victory over Colorado.
Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett and Brandon Montour each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, while Matthew Tkachuk scored twice. Florida built a three-goal lead in the first period, but it was ultimately Tkachuk who was the hero.
After a lackluster start to the game, the Panthers pulled out their claws with three goals in the space of just over four minutes halfway through the engagement. Barkov took advantage of good pressure from Anton Lundell in the offensive zone to accept a pass and score from the backhand.
Then, defenseman Brandon Montour let go a good wrist shot at the face-off circles to double the Panthers’ lead. Bennett amassed an assist on the play with a stellar effort to get Florida’s attack going again.
Less than two minutes later, Bennett took advantage of a power play and a nice snap from Sam Reinhart at the mouth of the net to give the Panthers a three-goal lead.
The Avalanche finally gave a sign of life with 54 seconds left in the opening period. Andrew Cogliano redirected a Kurtis MacDermid shot in front of the net to cut the lead to 3-1 after 20 minutes.
It took until the end of the middle period before we saw another goal. In front of the net, Matthew Tkachuk saw Barkov’s shot partially blocked by Alexandar Georgiev. The puck then hit Tkachuk, who only had to drive it into the back of the net to restore Florida to a three-goal lead.
With his goal, Tkachuk extended his game streak by at least one point to four. He also hit the 50-point plateau this season with that net. He is only the third player in Panthers history to reach that milestone in 39 games or less, after Pavel Bure and Jonathan Huberdeau.
Tough, the Avalanche reduced the deficit to two goals in the third period. Mikko Rantanen came from behind the net and pushed the puck directly into Sergei Bobrosvky’s skate, before the latter finally crossed the goal line.
Just 20 seconds later, Nathan MacKinnon attacked and eluded Bobrosvky’s vigilance with a shot through his pads to make it 4-3. Rantanen had one assist on the game, helping him reach the 50-point plateau this season as well.
The Avalanche thought they had completed the comeback midway through the third period when Artturi Lehkonen jumped on a return shot to push the puck into the back of the net. Video replay, however, showed Devon Toews was in an offside position and the decision was overturned, allowing the Panthers to maintain their slim 4-3 lead.
But to the great misfortune of the Panthers, once the offensive machine of the Avalanche engaged, it is very difficult to stop it. Seconds after the disallowed goal, JT Compher took advantage of Lehkonen’s screen in front of the net to score and tie the game 4-4.
The Avalanche, however, made a misstep late in the third period and found themselves shorthanded. Tkachuk made Colorado pay for that error and pushed a puck into the back of the net to restore Florida to a 5-4 lead.
Sergei Bobrosvky stopped 27 of 31 shots aimed at him to get his 10e win of the season, on his 25e encounter. At the other end of the rink, Alexandrar Georgiev had a busy night at work with five goals against on 37 shots.
Florida meets the Golden Knights on Thursday night when the Avalanche take on the Blackhawks.