MacKinnon helps Avalanche cool off Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist when the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Florida Panthers 5-3 at FLA Live Arena on Saturday.

Mikko Rantanen and J.T. Compher each had two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev made 42 saves for the Avalanche (28-19-4), who had scored one goal in losing the first two of a three-game road trip.
"We had a lot of chances up," MacKinnon said. "We were due, I thought, and we finally broke through."
Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart each had two assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 45 saves for the Panthers (26-23-6), whose three-game winning streak ended.
"Frustrating start to the game," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "We were slow but did battle back. You look back on this one and it was even. The difference was special teams. They got a power play and got a short-handed one, which kind of set us on our heels a bit. They played well and I thought we got better as the game went along."

Colorado took a 1-0 lead at 3:35 of the first period when Logan O'Connor scored a short-handed goal on a 2-on-1 with Andrew Cogliano. It was the first goal in 39 games for O'Connor, who scored five in the first 12.
"Definitely felt like the chances had been coming more as of late," O'Connor said. "So I think I was just trying to bear down on the puck, focus on things a little bit more. Obviously, it's tough in that situation and you sort of grip your stick a little more, you overthink things, but it was definitely nice to get that."
Matt Nieto made it 2-0 at 8:04 on a one-timer from the slot off Compher's pass from behind the net.
The Panthers tied it with two goals in a span of 1:05 in the second period.
Aaron Ekblad made it 2-1 at 7:03 with a wrist shot from the point through traffic before Sam Bennett made it 2-2 at 8:08 with a wrist shot over the glove of Georgiev.

Twenty-five seconds later, Devon Toews put Colorado back in front 3-2 at 8:33 on a rebound.
"I like our response after they made it 2-2 probably the best," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "I thought we were playing a good hockey game up 2-0. Once they got those two and the building started going, I was getting a little nervous about what our response would be. And then right away we answer and score to get the lead again. So I like to stick-to-itiveness of our team tonight."
MacKinnon made it 4-2 at 14:01 with a power-play goal from the slot after the puck bounced to him.
Aleksander Barkov cut it to 4-3 at 11:03 of the third period when he tapped in Reinhart's centering pass. Barkov missed Florida's previous game, a 4-1 win against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, with an upper-body injury.
"We did not get the start we wanted," said Barkov, the Panthers captain. "They dominated us in the first period. I don't know what happened there, but we came back and played a solid game at the end. We just did not get the goal or get the win at the end."
MacKinnon scored into an empty net at 19:01 for the 5-3 final.
"We felt calm all night," MacKinnon said. "I think even at the end there. I thought we handled that PK, the 6-on-5 really well. Just great to see."
NOTES: Avalanche All-Star defenseman Cale Makar missed a second game because of an upper-body injury he sustained when he was hit in the head by Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jeff Carter on Tuesday. He is day to day. … Colorado defenseman Erik Johnson left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury. There was no update. … MacKinnon scored the 47th game-winning goal of his NHL career, tying Michel Goulet for third in franchise history behind Joe Sakic (86) and Milan Hejduk (59). ... The Avalanche used 11 forwards and seven defensemen. … Tkachuk has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in his past nine games.