Nathan MacKinnon leads a balanced scoring attack as Avalanche cruise to 6-2 win over Panthers

DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon was one of six Colorado players to score and the Avalanche cruised to a 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

Sam Malinski, Brock Nelson, Gavin Brindley, Artturi Lehkonen and captain Gabriel Landeskog also had goals. The Avalanche saw 13 different players record at least a point.

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Colorado (22-2-7) now has a league-leading 51 points this season and became the sixth team over the last 20 years to reach the 50-point mark in 31 games or fewer.

Before the game, the Avalanche honored the 1995-96 Stanley Cup team, which captured the Mile High City’s first major professional sports championship. The Avalanche moved to town from Quebec before that season and swept Florida in the final.

Noah Gregor and Mackie Samoskevich scored for the Panthers. Daniil Tarasov was kept busy by the high-flying Avalanche offense and finished with 36 saves, including a stop of MacKinnon on a penalty shot.

The Panthers looked sluggish — Malinski scored 1:14 into the game — after playing in Utah the night before and beating the Mammoth 4-3. This contest started a tough stretch for the Panthers with 10 straight games against teams that were in the playoffs last season.

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MacKinnon’s second-period score was his 392nd career goal and moved him by Joe Sakic (391) for the most in Avalanche history. Sakic has a franchise-most 625 goals over his career for the Nordiques and Avalanche.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 23 saves for Colorado.

Brindley scored and had an assist in his first game since Nov. 20. Brindley, who’s been out with an injury, had his goal set up by the 40-year-old Brent Burns. Brindley wasn’t born when Burns was drafted in 2003.

Up next

Panthers: At Dallas on Saturday.

Avalanche: Host Nashville on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl