Calvin Petersen made 44 saves for Los Angeles (11-9-6) after missing the Kings' 5-1 win at the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday due to NHL COVID-19 protocol.
"It was a bit of a surprise," he said. "I got notified I was being put in protocol and had to wait it out, take it day by day and follow the protocol. By this morning I was able to get released back. I think it was a false positive. Glad to be back. I'm glad it was handled well and I was able to join the team."
The teams will finish the two-game set here Sunday.
Rantanen gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 9:18 of the second period with a shot through a screen from above the right face-off circle.
"When I look at this game I'll see a pretty good mix of scoring chances and shot quality," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "I thought we had a few good opportunities off the rush, our O-zone play was pretty good. I thought we shot the puck better as the game went on. I thought we started to skate a little better. We put them under a little more duress and created some turnovers and some quick plays to the net that gave us some good opportunities."
Rantanen passed to MacKinnon for an empty-net goal with 1:23 left in the third period for the 2-0 final.
"When you get a breakaway on the empty net you're always looking around first of all to see that there's nobody backchecking on you and you have teammates with you," Rantanen said, "so it's a pretty easy decision there just to give it to Nate."
A goal by Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog at 14:33 of the third was disallowed because he batted the puck in with his hand. The call was confirmed after a video review.
The Avalanche killed three Kings power plays, two in the third period while leading 1-0. Los Angeles was 9-for-23 on the power play in its previous six games, with at least one goal on the man-advantage in all six.
"The guys take a lot of pride in it, they went to be out there and we're getting the saves from 'Grubi'," Bednar said of the penalty kills. "Tonight it was big, he came up big. It's key saves at key times from Grubi, it's getting a certain level of desperation from our penalty killers. That's why it's working."
As well as Petersen played, Kings coach Todd McLellan praised the Avalanche for their performance at both ends of the ice.
"We've got to give Colorado some credit," he said. "They played a [heck] of a game; they've done that to a lot of teams lately. Their pace of play with the puck is evident, but their pace of play without the puck, their ability to close and take lanes away and force you into mistakes is as good as we've seen from a team all year.
"Our guys, I didn't think our team to a man, we didn't play well. We didn't execute when we did have time, we didn't make the plays we needed to make. But don't take anything away from how well the Avalanche played."
NOTES: The Kings played without forward Alex Iafallo, who was a late scratch (illness), and defenseman Olli Maatta (protocol). … Los Angeles center Anze Kopitar's point streak ended at six games. He scored 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in the streak. … Rantanen has scored nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past six games. … The Avalanche set their record by allowing fewer than 30 shots in 15 straight games. Colorado did it in 14 straight in 2000-01 on the way to winning the Stanley Cup.
