Eurolanche

Avs return home to host Florida

The Colorado Avalanche hosts the Florida Panthers for the second and final meeting between the clubs this campaign. The Panthers visit to Colorado comes less than a week after the Avalanche traveled to the Sunshine State on Dec. 9, a 7-3 victory for the Avs.

In 31 matchups between the squads (sice 1995-96), Colorado has a 28-8-5 overall record. At home, the Avs have an 7-5-3 record against the Panthers.

Colorado fell to 14-14-2 this season after losing to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night to wrap up a four-game road trip. The Panthers also hit the ice on Tuesday as they fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime, dropping the club to 12-14-5 this season and 6-8-2 on the road.

Last Time Out

Colorado Avalanche

The Avs were outscored 5-2 by the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night. The Capitals scored first but Colin Wilson found the back of the net in the second period to knot the game 1-1. Washington took the lead going into second intermission and scored twice more in the final frame. Tyson Jost recorded his third goal of the season to put Colorado within two before the squad gave up an empty-net tally to seal the match for the Capitals.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers fell 3-2 in overtime to the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago opened the scoring with the only goal in first and Florida forward Nick Bjugstand retaliated with the sole marker in the second stanza. Jamie McGinn gave the Panthers a one-goal lead before the Blackhawks sent the game into extra minutes and Patrick Kane netted his first game-winning goal of the season for Chicago.

Last Time They Met

On Saturday, the Avalanche had seven different goal scorers to defeat the Panthers 7-3. Mikko Rantanen got the Avs on the scoreboard in the opening period and the match was tied 1-1 going into first intermission. Florida took a 2-1 lead until Nathan ManKinnon scored the tying marker and Alexander Kerfoot lit the lamp less than a minute later to take the lead back. Erik Johnson, Colin Wilson, Matt Nieto and Carl Soderberg scored within six minutes in the third frame to secure the win.

What to Watch

Redemption

Until the last homestand, Colorado excelled at Pepsi Center having only lost one game in Denver. The club went 1-4-0 in five contests in the Mile High City in late November and early December for an overall 8-5-1 home record this season. The Avs left Denver for a four-contest road trip where the team went 2-2-0.

"It's a pretty good road trip coming out 2-2," said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar. "I would have liked to have another point or two out of it, but it's satisfactory, let's put it that way. We still have pretty high standards for our team and feel we can win every night."

Though the team showed improvement on the trip from the play that Colorado had at Pepsi Center in the weeks before, it still hasn't met the standard that Bednar or Avalanche captain, Gabriel Landeskog think this club should be playing to.

"At this point, we're not looking to play .500 hockey. We're looking to do better than that," Landeskog said. The Avalanche has 11 games from now until Jan. 6, nine of which are at home. The club looks to take advantage of familiar territory to increase numbers in the win column.

Power Play

The Avalanche struck out on with the man advantage in its last four contests going 0-for-14 on the power play during the road trip. However, when playing at home Colorado's power-play unit is fifth best in the league averaging a 27.58 percent success rate.

The Panthers have scored four power-play goals over their last five games. On the season, Colorado and Florida are neck-and-neck overall on the power play and are ranked in the league as 21st and 22nd respectively.

Player to Watch

Colorado: Left Wing Gabriel Landeskog

Gabriel Landeskog has 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in 26 contests this campaign. The forward needs two points to reach 300 in his NHL career. Landeskog is fifth in team points and second in goals scored this season for Colorado.

Florida: Center Aleksander Barkov

Aleksander Barkov has 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 30 games this season. Barkov is tied for the team-lead with eight multi-point games this season and leads the forwards in the league in average time on ice (22:25). The forward tallied his 200th point against the Blackhawks on Tuesday.

Lineup Notes

Alexander Kerfoot's status is day-to-day after missing his first game of the season due to a leg injury he suffered on Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. On the four-game road trip, Bednar stayed consistent with a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

The Details

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MT at Pepsi Center. The game will be televised on Altitude and the radio broadcast can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio AM 950 or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.

--by Taylor Hodapp / ColoradoAvalanche.com--