SUNRISE, Fla. — With most hockey cities on freeze alert, it's easy to relax in the Florida sun, sip a few tropical drinks and enjoy the ocean air.

At the end of a four-game trip, it looked like the Avalanche went on vacation a bit too early.

The Avalanche was in position to win three of four games on the trip but stumbled badly Sunday, getting outplayed in the first two periods of an eventual 3-0 loss to the Florida Panthers.

Sloppy with the puck and too often a step behind the play, Colorado showed little life until trailing by two goals midway through the second period. By that time, it was too late.

"I really believe that every individual has got to prepare himself mentally," veteran forward Ian Laperriere said. "I know we're in a hot place right now and it's a nice place to be, but we had a job to do. For 40 minutes, most of us didn't come to play and it's unacceptable."

The tropical weather typically agrees with the Avalanche, which had won all 10 road games against the Panthers since moving from Quebec to Denver in 1995.

That record included the clinching games of the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals.

Nothing about Sunday's game conjured championship memories as Colorado was outshot 18-6 through 33 minutes and failed to solve Florida goalie Tomas Vokoun.

"I think we weren't necessarily good enough in the first two periods," defenseman John-Michael Liles said, before amending his statement. "Actually, we weren't good enough at all in the first two periods. I think the score was befitting of how we came out and played."

Nothing symbolized Colorado's day more than when Liles fired a shot past Vokoun at the end of the second period. Unfortunately for Colorado, it came a split-second after the horn.

Instead of trailing 2-1 entering the third, the Avalanche headed to the dressing room feeling like a card player who just suffered a bad beat.

"Obviously, that would have been a big goal," coach Tony Granato said. "We had a few chances . . . but when you start slow and you don't get your legs going until too late, it's tough."

Colorado dominated the puck for much of the final period, outshooting Florida 12-5, but Vokoun finished with 23 saves for his second shutout of the season and 27th of his career.

The loss left the Avalanche with a split of its seven-day, four-game trip that started with a big win Monday in Detroit but ended with a disappointing finish in south Florida.

"To make no excuses, it's been a long stretch of road games and travel and everything else," Granato said. "It looked like it caught up with us."

Former Avalanche forward Brett McLean gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 5:26 of the second when he scored his first goal of the season on a centering pass from Nick Tarnasky.

Liles and teammate Milan Hej duk got their signals crossed on the play and Liles left McLean unattended in front of the crease.

"I kind of got confused on the assignments coming out," Liles said. "I was thinking that I was supposed to stay with my man coming out (in front) instead of staying there and letting 'Hedgie' go. Unfortunately, it ended up costing us."

Richard Zednik made it 2-0 at 12:59, winning a footrace to the puck and beating Colorado goalie Peter Budaj with a nifty backhand move. The chance was set up when the puck slipped past Avalanche defenseman Jordan Leopold and out of the Florida zone.

"He made a good shot," Budaj said. "I thought I had my glove there and my pad there. He had to go upstairs and he did. He made a nice play."

Bryan McCabe iced the game with an empty-net goal with 1:42 remaining.

Budaj finished with 21 saves as he lost his third straight start. Backup Andrew Raycroft, who won both games on the trip, could be back in net Tuesday when the Avalanche plays Phoenix at the Pepsi Center.

"We've got to get these points," Budaj said. "We were up one game over .500 and now we're back to .500. We've got to come back strong for the home game."

ETC.: Colorado forward Marek Svatos missed his fifth straight game as he recovers from a back injury. He remains questionable for Tuesday's game but probably will know more after practice today. . . . Avalanche rookie T.J. Hensick, who has one goal in 20 games, was a healthy scratch for the first time this season.

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