The Colorado Avalanche, who are going through a difficult stretch of play, defeated the Dallas Stars and New York Islanders in overtime to win the first two of their tough test games.
On Saturday, they were utterly defeated by a fiery Florida Panthers club. The Boston Bruins, who are currently tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference, will play in Denver on Monday night.
Although Colorado has won seven of its last ten games, an 8-4 setback to Florida has left them bitter. Before the crowd even took their seats, the Panthers were ahead 3-0. Before Florida scored a flurry of goals in the third period, the Avalanche knotted the game twice.
Despite being a single defeat, the consequences were significant, particularly regarding the performance of backup goalie Ivan Prosvetov. Alexandar Georgiev had to forfeit his off day when he gave up the first three goals on just four shots before being substituted.
Georgiev had appeared in nine straight games. Coach Jared Bednar had wanted to give him a rest before playing Boston and then Vegas on Wednesday night, but that plan was abandoned. He might now play continuously for some time to come.
“We’re in a stretch with no easy games coming up,” Bednar stated. “No games are easy, ever, but particularly during this phase of the game that we’re in. We have four more games in a row against the league’s best opponents. We’ll see because Georgie has played ten straight games.
Defenseman Bowen Byram of Colorado is out because of a lower-body injury sustained during Thursday night’s victory over Dallas. He will be unavailable for at least seven days after being placed on injured reserve on Saturday.
Miles Wood, a forward with the Avalanche, was scratched from the game on Saturday for an unspecified reason. However, with Ben Meyers being traded to the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League, Wood may be added to the starting lineup on Monday.
The Avalanche turn around to take on another squad that is riding high after falling to the NHL’s top team. The Bruins, who are coming off a 7-3 home victory against Tampa Bay on Saturday night, have won five of their last six games since the holiday break.
After a heartbreaking first-round exit last spring, Boston has bounced back to contend for the league’s most points once more. A six-day, four-game road trip against Western Conference clubs begins on Monday.