Craig Anderson makes 27 saves for 7th shutout of season, Avs beat Panthers 3-0

Anderson, Avs shut out Panthers

DENVER — Craig Anderson made 27 saves to move into a tie for the NHL shutout lead with seven, and Paul Stastny scored twice in the Colorado Avalanche’s 3-0 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

Anderson matched New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur, Phoenix’s Ilya Bryzgalov and Florida’s Tomas Vokoun for the shutout lead. Vokoun made 28 saves for the Panthers.

Matt Hendricks also scored, and Chris Stewart had two assists to help the Avalanche snap the Panthers’ winning streak at three games.

The Avalanche, coming off a disappointing loss to Vancouver on Tuesday night in which they blew a 4-1 lead, bounced back against the Panthers in a game they needed before playing four of their next five on the road.

Colorado looked lethargic in the first period before scoring twice in the second.

On the first goal, defenseman Brett Clark hesitated on a shot from a point, drawing two defenders to the ice and then sent a blistering shot on net. Vokoun made the stop, but the rebound landed in front and Stastny backhanded it in at 4:59.

Stastny made it 2-0 with a power-play goal with 4:39 left in the period. The Avalanche had a 5-on-3 power play for 13 seconds, and a second after Cory Stillman finished serving a bench minor, Stastny struck. Stewart sent a pass across the zone and in front of Vokun, and Stastny one-timed it for his 14th goal of the season.

Playing against his former team for the first time, Anderson faced few challenges through the first two periods. His biggest save came on Rostislav Olesz midway through the second period.

Florida turned up the pressure in the third. Stephen Weiss had two good chances early, setting the tone for the Panthers’ best period, but they couldn’t solve Anderson.

With the Panthers pressing for goals, the Avalanche several chances to make it a 3-0 game. They finally cashed in when Matt Hendricks scored his seventh goal with 3:34 left.

NOTES: Avalanche C Peter Mueller has at least one point — seven overall — in all five of his games since coming over from Phoenix in a trade. … The Avalanche finished the season 12-5-1 against the Eastern Conference.