The defending Stanley Cup champions the Colorado Avalanche handled the Florida Panthers 5-3 at FLA Live Arena on Saturday night. The Panthers, who had their season-high three-game win streak stopped, completed a five-game homestand over two weeks that goes back to before the NHL All-Star Game break.
Colorado(28-19-4) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Logan O'Connor put in a rebound shot past Sergei Bobrovsky for a shorthanded goal at 3:35. Matt Nieto scored on a one-time forehand shot from the low slot on a feed by J.T. Compher behind the Panthers cage at the 8:04 mark.
Florida(26-23-6) climbed back into the contest and tied in 2-2 during the second period. The Panthers scored twice in a 65-second span. Aaron Ekblad got his ninth goal of the campaign with a wrist shot from the right point at the 7:03 mark and Sam Bennett nailed his 14th goal of the season at 8:08 on a snap shot from the top right circle.
The Avalanche bounced back just 25 seconds later on a goal by Devon Toews for a 3-2 lead. Nathan MacKinnon added a power-play goal from the high slot with 5:59 left in the second and the Avs had a two-goal margin.
In the third period, the Panthers closed it to 4-3 with 8:57 remaining. Aleksander Barkov scored his 15th goal this season at the top of the crease on assists from Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk.
The Cats pulled their goalie for an extra skater in the final two minutes. MacKinnon placed the puck into an empty net with 58.5 seconds to go for his second tally of the contest and 16th goal in 2022-23.
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