Devon Toews scored twice and participated in all of his team’s goals as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Monday night.
Toews broke a 1-1 tie 8:54 into the third period, his wrist shot from the blue line finding its way past goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Avalanche guard then assisted in Colorado’s insurance goal, scored into an empty net by Mikko Rantanen, with 1:57 remaining in the duel.
Rantanen, who scored from the defensive goal line, extended his streak of outings with a minimum of one point to 14 games. This is the longest active streak in the NHL.
The Finn has 24 goals on his record, which places him five points behind the leader in this regard, Leon Draisaitl.
The Bettman Tour’s leading scorer, Nathan MacKinnon, added a 52nd assist to his record on Rantanen’s goal. The Avalanche star center has produced 14 goals and 52 assists in 41 games.
In a losing cause, Carter Verhaeghe scored his 10th goal of the campaign. He opened the scoring for Florida at the end of the first period.
Mackenzie Blackwood, however, was uncompromising afterward, finishing her evening of work with 25 saves.
Colorado (25-15-1) is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games. He is five points behind the Winnipeg Jets, leaders in the Central, and six behind the Vegas Golden Knights, first team in the general classification.
For their part, the Panthers (24-15-2) remain four points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for first place in the Atlantic Division standings, with the same number of games played.
Markstrom wanted his 20th victory
Jacob Markstrom shined with spectacular saves against Eeli Tolvanen and Matty Berniers, helping the New Jersey Devils win 3-2 over the Seattle Kraken.
While his club protected a one-goal lead in the third period, Markstrom stole a seemingly certain goal from Tolvanen by pulling out the glove at the last second.
A few minutes later, the veteran Swedish goalkeeper released the pad with the same kind of speed to frustrate Beniers, who in turn believed he had the equalizing goal.
Ondrej Palat scored the winning goal for the Devils, 2:01 into the final period.
Shane Wright had just tied the game 2-2 for the Kraken when Palat beat Philipp Grubauer 37 seconds later. This new lead would then be threatened, but Markstrom had other plans.
Dawson Mercer and Paul Cotter each scored a 10th goal this year in this victory for New Jersey (25-15-3).
Jack Hughes reached the plateau of 200 assists in the NHL by setting up Palat’s goal. Dougie Hamilton also contributed to the winning goal for Sheldon Keefe’s team.
