DENVER — Mackenzie Blackwood kept referring to his teammates as “they ... In his last game with San Jose, Blackwood faced 54 shots and let in three goals against the Florida Panthers. That was a month ago today. What a difference a month makes ...

His path from prospect to potential Vezina Trophy candidate was non-linear, and included some dark days. But, beyond some better fortune with his health, one of the biggest realizations in his development was his ability to make flashy saves was not going to make him the consistent goaltender he wanted to be.

But the Avs looked like a completely different club Monday night, completing the first half of the regular season with a statement effort against the defending champion Florida Panthers. Devon Toews scored twice, Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves and the Avalanche scratched out its 25th win in 41 games, a 3-1 victory at Ball Arena.

The Cats fell to the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 at Ball Arena, kicking off their quick two-game road trip with a fourth loss in their past six outings. Florida showed up well in Colorado despite playing shorthanded, going toe-to-toe with the Avs in their barn for basically the full duration.

Devon Toews scored two goals and added an assist, Mikko Rantanen also scored to extend his point streak to 14 games and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 in Denver on Monday night.

DENVER (AP) — Devon Toews scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with 11:06 remaining, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Monday ... extend his points streak to 14 games. Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 26 saves as he ...

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Dylan Larkin scored two goals and the surging Detroit Red Wings beat the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Thursday night. Larkin, Jonatan Berggren and Patrick Kane had power-play goals for Detroit, which also got a goal from Marco Kasper. Cam Talbot stopped 40 shots for the Red Wings, who have won eight of their last nine games.

The last time the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers met was in Sunrise and Alexandar Georgiev was in net. A few things have changed for the Avs since their 7-4 win over the reigning Stanely Cup Champs,

The Colorado Avalanche welcomed the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers to the Rocky Mountains for the first time this season after having won four of their last five games.

Utah sports a 5-7-4 record in its barn and has also lost its last three straight at home. Karel Vejmelka is tonight’s expected starter, and in his last five games, he possesses a 1-3-1 record with a .901 SV% and a 3.03 GAA.

DENVER -- — Devon Toews scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with 11:06 remaining, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Florida Panthers ... to 14 games. Mackenzie Blackwood finished with ...

Between pipes against Minnesota