Florida Panthers (24-12-2, second in the Atlantic Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (25-11-3, first in the Central Division)
Denver; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Colorado Avalanche play the Florida Panthers with a four winning streak intact.
Colorado has a 16-4-0 record at home and a 25-11-3 record overall. The Avalanche serve 10.7 penalty minutes per game to rank seventh in league play.
Florida is 12-7-2 on the road and 24-12-2 overall. The Panthers have a +21 scoring differential, with 115 total goals scored and 94 given up.
The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nathan MacKinnon has 22 goals and 42 assists for the Avalanche. Valeri Nichushkin has scored seven goals and added six assists over the last 10 games.
Carter Verhaeghe has 20 goals and 16 assists for the Panthers. Sam Reinhart has eight goals and two assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Avalanche: 7-2-1, averaging 3.9 goals, 6.7 assists, 4.2 penalties and 12.1 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game.
Panthers: 7-3-0, averaging three goals, five assists, 4.5 penalties and 13.9 penalty minutes while giving up two goals per game.
INJURIES: Avalanche: Chris Wagner: out (achilles), Bowen Byram: day to day (lower body), Artturi Lehkonen: out (neck), Gabriel Landeskog: out (knee), Pavel Francouz: out for season (groin).
Panthers: Nick Cousins: day to day (concussion protocol).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
