With two of their top defensemen out, the Florida Panthers knew they were in for a challenge Monday night in Denver against the Avalanche. Sergei Bobrovsky — and the defensemen in for the Panthers — were up for the task.

The Florida Panthers kicked of their latest road trip Monday night against the Colorado Avalanche. Florida struggled to generate much offense and leaned heavily on their goaltender, falling to the host Avs 3-1 at Ball Arena.

Between pipes against Avalanche

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Colorado Avalanche center Juuso Parssinen, center, battles for position in front of the net between Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, left, and left wing Tomas Nosek, top right, in the first period of an NHL hockey ...

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.

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 -- Devon Toews had two goals and an assist, and the Colorado Avalanche scored three straight goals to rally for a 3-1 win against the Florida Panthers at Ball Arena on Monday.

After weathering an early high-octane attack from the Avalanche, the Panthers broke the ice when Anton Lundell – after drawing the attention of seemingly every opposing player on the ice – set up Carter Verhaeghe for a slick goal to make it 1-0 at 15:57 of the first period. Carter Verhaeghe puts Florida on the board first against Colorado.

Sergei Bobrovsky — and the defensemen ... Florida killed off four Colorado power plays and frustrated the Avalanche throughout the night even with Aaron Ekblad and Niko Mikkola missing the ...

Colorado Avalanche center Juuso Parssinen, center, battles for position in front of the net between Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, left, and left wing Tomas Nosek, top right ...

DENVER (AP) Devon Toews scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with 11:06 remaining, and the Colorado Avalanche ... according to NHL Stats. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 31 shots.