Avalanche Buries Panthers Three Quick Goals In Second Period Give Colorado Victory In Opener

Now the Florida Panthers know why they’re called the Avalanche.

It took them 1-1/2 periods, but the Colorado Avalanche finally solved Florida’s suffocating defense and super-steady John Vanbiesbrouck with a three-goal flurry in 3:49 of the second period to win the Stanley Cup opener 3-1 Tuesday night.

“I thought we played great - except for 5-6 minutes,” Panthers coach Doug MacLean said. “They’ve got talent and depth, and it’s hard to play a perfect game in the Stanley Cup finals.”

Scott Young swung the momentum to the Avs and their pompom-waving fans with a seemingly soft goal that defused the importance of several early Florida defensive stands. Mike Ricci and Uwe Krupp quickly followed with goals as Colorado seized what history shows is often a series-swinging victory.

And if the Avalanche missed right wing Claude Lemieux, who sat out the first game of a two-game suspension for blindsiding Detroit’s Kris Draper, they didn’t show it. Patrick Roy was, well, Patrick Roy in goal, and the Avs’ speed and depth wore down a team that has thrived in the playoffs with those very same assets.

“We came out a little hesitant in the first period,” Ricci said. “They played very solid hockey, they worked very hard. We didn’t come out with our best effort. We picked it up a little bit, got our forecheck going and we caught a couple of breaks.”

Game 1 losers have dropped 45 of 57 Stanley Cups since the NHL switched to a best-of-seven playoff format. The includes the Detroit Red Wings last year, when they lost the first game to the New Jersey Devils.

“We know we’ve got to be even better as the series goes on,” Avalanche coach Marc Crawford said. “We feel good about our performance, but we’ve got to be even better.”

Game 2 will be Thursday night in Denver before the Stanley Cup takes its most southerly swing by shifting to Miami for Game 3 on Saturday night.

The Panthers, whose unyielding defense is similar to the Devils’ oftcopied neutral zone trap, were 3-0 in Game 1s before Tuesday, beating Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. But Colorado countered with a more telling statistic - a 34-20 second-period playoff scoring advantage.

Roy, who already owns two Stanley Cup rings and is trying for a third with a team that was still the Quebec Nordiques a year ago, preserved the lead with 25 saves in his record-setting 133rd playoff start.

“He was sensational,” Crawford said. “That’s why we want out and got him. He knows what it takes to win games in the playoffs.”

Roy, cast aside by the Montreal Canadiens following an in-game argument with the coaching staff in December, broke the games-played record set by Billy Smith, formerly of the New York Islanders and now Florida’s goaltending coach.

“I felt great, and I knew I had a great defense playing in front of me,” said Roy, who was serenaded with choruses of “Roy, Roy, Roy.”

And what does winning Game 1 mean?

“It means we’re three wins away,” Roy said. “I want to win another Stanley Cup, and I know the other guys in the room want to win it, too.”

The Panthers, making the Cup finals in only their third season of existence, weren’t supposed to be here - and in Colorado’s fatal and near flawless second period, they weren’t.

Maybe it was the mile-high atmosphere getting to a team that stockpiled canisters of oxygen in their dressing room. Or maybe it was effects of playing a third critical game in a six-day span in which the Avalanche only relaxed.

But the Panthers fell as flat as the McNichols Arena ice midway through the second period after their defense dictated the early tempo and playoff star Tom Fitzgerald’s goal at 16:51 of the first period gave them a 1-0 lead.

Avalanche 3, Panthers 1

Florida 1 0 0 - 1

Colorado 0 3 0 - 3

First period-1, Florida, Fitzgerald 4 (Lindsay), 16:51. Second period-2, Colorado, Young 3 (Deadmarsh, Lefebvre), 10:32. 3, Colorado, Ricci 6 (Keene, Ozolinsh), 12:21. 4, Colorado, Krupp 3 (Kamensky, Forsberg), 14:20. Third period-None.

Shots on goal-Florida 12-6-8-26. Colorado 6-15-9-30.Power-play opp.-Florida 0 of 5; Colorado 0 of 8.Goalies-Florida, Vanbiesbrouck 12-7 (30 shots-27 saves). Colorado, Roy 13-6 (26-25).A-16,061 (16,061).