Florida @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 18, 2019 ) Colorado 5, Florida 4

The Colorado Avalanche turned in a rare clunker last time out but they have more pressing concerns than simply trying to rebound from their first home defeat of the season. The Central Division-leading Avalanche will be without two-thirds of their vaunted No. 1 line when they host the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night in the second of a three-game homestand.

Eight days after high-scoring forward Mikko Rantanen suffered a lower-body injury that has him listed as week-to-week, Colorado announced on Tuesday that captain Gabriel Landeskog will be sidelined indefinitely. "He came to practice on Sunday, had some discomfort, and he went for further evaluation and he's got a lower-body injury," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "He's going to miss some significant time here." The Panthers ran their point streak to eight games (4-0-4) with an impressive 6-2 victory in Edmonton on Sunday but it came to a crashing halt in a 7-2 mauling by Vancouver the following night. "We went completely from the best game of the season to probably the worst," Florida captain Aleksander Barkov said. "We just need to move forward."

TV: 10 p.m. ET, FS Florida, Altitude (Colorado)

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (5-3-4): Florida absorbed an early knockout punch in Vancouver, giving up three goals in the first 6 1/2 minutes and five in the opening period. "For the most part, we found ways to get points in some tough buildings on the road against teams off to decent starts," coach Joel Quenneville said. "I thought we were heading in the right direction. With something like (Monday's loss), every game's a whole new challenge." Center Brian Boyle, who was signed 10 days ago, has scored in back-to-back games.

ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (8-2-1): Nathan MacKinnon, Rantanen and Landeskog combined for 106 goals in 2018-19 and were off to another fast start this season. MacKinnon, who established a franchise record by scoring at least one point in the first 11 games of the season, skated on a line with Nazem Kadri and Joonas Donskoi at Tuesday's practice. "They're hard guys to replace, and I'm not sure if we can replace them, but we have good enough guys in this dressing room to step up and answer the bell and produce temporarily," Kadri said.

OVERTIME

1. MacKinnon has four goals and six points in 13 games against Florida.

2. Panthers G Sergei Bobrovsky is 7-2-2 with a 2.61 goals-against average versus Colorado.

3. Avalanche F Colin Wilson exited Tuesday's practice with an unspecified injury.

PREDICTION: Avalanche 3, Panthers 2