Florida @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 6, 2018 ) Colorado 5, Florida 2

The Colorado Avalanche have picked themselves off the mat after suffering an eight-game losing streak and are right back in the middle of the Western Conference wild-card race as they prepare to host the Florida Panthers on Monday night. The Avalanche have beaten three teams sitting in playoff position during a four-game winning streak after blanking Nashville 5-0 on Saturday and are one point behind Minnesota for the second wild card.

“We kind of looked ourselves in the mirror,” Colorado’s leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon told reporters after Saturday’s triumph. “We had to make a decision if we wanted to push for the playoffs or be a lottery team. We haven’t achieved our goal yet. Obviously we have 20 games left, but we’re on the right track so it feels good.” The Avalanche have won the last three matchups with the Panthers after earning a 5-2 victory at Florida on Dec. 6 and play four of their next five games against teams out of playoff position. The Panthers are one of those teams on the outside looking in, but have won four of five and veteran goalie Roberto Luongo has a chance to pass Ed Belfour (484) for third on the NHL’s all-time wins list. “I don’t know what else you could say about the guy,” Florida center Vincent Trocheck told reporters of Luongo. “He’s world-class through and through, most humble guy I’ve ever met. It’s phenomenal to see him on a daily basis. It feels like he’s breaking a new record every day.”

TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Florida, Altitude (Colorado)

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (27-25-8): Captain Aleksander Barkov has scored six times and set up five others while recording multiple points in a career-high four straight games and has 25 goals - three shy of his career best in 2015-16. Fellow forward Jonathan Huberdeau, who sits second behind Barkov (64) with 60 points, is also wielding a hot stick with four goal and four assists in the past four contests. Left wing Mike Hoffman tops the team with 26 goals and right wing Evgenii Dadonov boasts a five-game point streak in which he has scored twice.

ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (27-24-11): MacKinnon registered five of his team-leading 80 points in the last four games and fellow forward Mikko Rantanen is one point behind after notching one in each of the past three contests. Captain Gabriel Landeskog tops Colorado in goals with 33 after scoring in each of the last three games and posted six points in the past four outings to push his season total to 64. Center Carl Soderberg has played a big part during the winning streak while scoring three times and setting up four others over the last three contests.

OVERTIME

1. Florida F Frank Vatrano, who has a career-high 20 goals, signed a three-year $7.6 million extension Saturday.

2. Colorado G Semyon Varlamov, who owns a .958 save percentage his last five games, was rested as Philipp Grubauer posted a shutout Saturday.

3. Trocheck scored his sixth goal of the season Saturday to pull within three of 100 for his career.

PREDICTION: Avalanche 3, Panthers 2