National Hockey League
Florida 4, Colorado 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Florida
Referees: Eric Furlatt, Steve Kozari
Linesmen: Derek Amell, Pierre Racicot
Attendance: 11694

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Center Aleksander Barkov was already down with a broken bone in his right hand.

But to make matters worse for the Florida Panthers top line, Jaromir Jagr, usually on Barkov'sright side, left the game in the first period due to a lower-body injury, possibly in the hamstring area.

Even without those two standouts, the Panthers had enough to beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 on Tuesday night at the BB&T Center.

Panthers center Vincent Trocheck did the majority of the stepping up, scoring two power-play goals, putting Florida up 2-0. He also had an assist and now has four goals this season.

"I said it when (Barkov) went down, good teams whenever players go down, other guys have to step up," Trocheck said. "That's what we did tonight."

Defenseman Brian Campbell picked up a goal and a pair of assists and right winger Reilly Smith had a goal and an assist for Florida.

The Panthers went 3-for-3 on the power play while Colorado was 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

"Special teams are huge," Trocheck said. "That's a big part of the game. Whenever our power play is going, it gives us momentum."

It was the Panthers' second straight win, but the Jagr injury was a bit of a downer. Jagr, the oldest player in the NHL at 43, entered the game tied for fourth in the league in goals with six and leading the Panthers in points with 10. But he played just 2:30 on Tuesday.

Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, who picked up an assist on Florida's first goal, moved into sole possession of ninth place on the NHL's all-time win list with 404, moving past Grant Fuhr.

The Avalanche, who started backup goalie Reto Berra, lost five of their past six games.

Colorado's only good news came when left winger Gabriel Landeskog ruined Luongo's shutout bid with 57 seconds left in the game.

Avalanche coach Patrick Roy credited the Panthers.

"Their power play moved the puck well," Roy said. "We had a hard time. Five on five, we won the game 1-0. But their power play was clicking."

Florida opened the scoring with 19.7 seconds left in the first period. Trocheck skated up the right side on what was essentially a one-man rush, beating Berra with a wrist shot to the stick side.

"Maybe we should have been better on our forecheck, not let this guy walk in," Roy said. "But they executed better than us."

The power play was set up when Colorado left winger Alex Tanguay held Campbell.

"It was a power-play breakout we've been working on," Trocheck said of his goal. "Teams do their homework. Usually, I would drop that to (left winger Jussi Jokinen). But they kind of bit on it a little bit and cheated, so I had a lane. I took the opportunity."

Early in the second period, the Panthers killed off a pair of penalties, including 52 seconds in which they were down two men.

The Panthers made it 2-0 with 17:02 left in the third period. Trocheck, operating on the left side this time, took a pass from defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. The Panthers moved the puck well laterally on the play, and Trocheck beat Berra before he could get back to cover his stick side.

Smith scored with 10:11 left in the third period, again beating Berra stick side.

Florida's second and third goals came as the result of a pair of penalties on Colorado defenseman Francois Beauchemin -- tripping and cross checking.

The Panthers made it 4-0 on Campbell's short-handed goal with 5:58 left. The high slap-shot was Campbell's first goal of the season.

"We've been working better as a team lately," Campbell said. "The work ethic is there. It doesn't matter who is in the lineup. We have a next-man-up mentality."

NOTES: Panthers C Aleksander Barkov (broken bone in right hand) won't need surgery and should return in two to four weeks. Had he needed an operation, he could have missed two months. ... This is the 20th anniversary of the season Florida reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the only time in franchise history, losing four straight games to Colorado to end its most glorious year. ... Colorado D Tyson Barrie returned after a three-game suspension for his hit on Ducks D Simon Despres. Colorado lost all three games without Barrie. ... Len Barrie, Tyson's father, played the final 74 games of his NHL career with Florida, retiring in 2001. ... Colorado rested starting G Semyon Varlamov, who has lost his past three games. Colorado G Reto Berra made his third start of the season. ... Colorado scratched Ds Brad Stuart and Brandon Gormley. ... Florida scratched Ds Dylan Olsen and Steven Kampfer.
Top Game Performances
 
Colorado   Florida
Gabriel Landeskog 1 Points Vincent Trocheck 3
Gabriel Landeskog 1 Goals Vincent Trocheck 2
Nikita Zadorov 1 Assists Brian Campbell 2
N/A Power Play Goals Vincent Trocheck 2
N/A Short Handed Goals Brian Campbell 1
Reto Berra .857 Save Percentage Roberto Luongo .969
Reto Berra 24 Saves Roberto Luongo 31
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Colorado 32 1 0-5 0-3 6 32
Florida 28 4 3-3 5-5 10 30
Upcoming Games
  • Florida will play their next game at home against Boston. The Panthers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .600 after a loss.
  • Colorado will play their next game on the road against Tampa Bay. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .333 after a loss.