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National Hockey League
Colorado 5, Florida 3
When: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 11, 2023
Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, Florida
Referees: Francis Charron, T.J. Luxmore
Linesmen: Steve Barton, Jonny Murray
Attendance: 17472

Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals and had one assist, leading the Colorado Avalanche to a 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night in Sunrise, Fla.

Alexandar Georgiev made 42 saves and improved his record to 21-12-3.

Logan O'Connor, Matt Nieto and Devon Toews also scored for the Avalanche, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Mikko Rantanen and J.T. Compher each had two assists.

Colorado's Cale Makar missed a second straight game due to an upper-body injury.

Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett and Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers, who had their three-game winning streak broken. Barkov returned from a one-game absence (hand injury).

Sam Reinhart added two assists for the Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky made 45 saves as his record dropped to 14-14-2.

Colorado opened the scoring on O'Connor's short-handed goal with 3:35 expired in the first period. The play started with a two-on-one rush. Bobrovsky stopped Andrew Cogliano's initial shot, but O'Connor tapped in the rebound.

The Avalanche made it 2-0 with 8:04 gone. Compher stole the puck from Barkov, and, from behind Florida's net, centered the puck for Nieto, who slid the puck past Bobrovsky.

Florida got on the board at 7:03 of the second on a long Ekblad shot from the point.

The Panthers tied the score 65 seconds later as Eric Staal's cross-ice pass connected with Bennett, who hit the net on a wrist shot from the right circle.

However, it took just 25 seconds for Toews to give Colorado a 3-2 lead. MacKinnon started the sequence with a pass to Bowen Byram, whose shot from the point was stopped by Bobrovsky. Toews then tapped in another easy rebound.

Colorado extended its advantage to 4-2 with 5:59 left in the second. MacKinnon was heavily involved again as he drew a tripping penalty on Eetu Luostarinen. Then, on the power play, Rantanen gathered a rebound and shoved the puck back to MacKinnon, who scored top shelf from the slot.

Florida cut its deficit to 4-3 at 11:03 of the third as Barkov tapped in the puck on a great pass from Reinhart.

The Panthers then had a power play after Evan Rodrigues was caught holding Matthew Tkachuk with 5:13 left. Florida nearly scored, but Brandon Montour's shot hit the inside of the left post.

MacKinnnon's empty-net goal with 59 seconds left made it 5-3.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Colorado   Florida
Nathan MacKinnon 3 Points Sam Reinhart 2
Nathan MacKinnon 2 Goals Aleksander Barkov 1
J.T. Compher 2 Assists Sam Reinhart 2
Nathan MacKinnon 1 Power Play Goals N/A
Logan O'Connor 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Alexandar Georgiev .933 Save Percentage Sergei Bobrovsky .918
Alexandar Georgiev 42 Saves Sergei Bobrovsky 45
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Colorado 50 5 1-3 4-4 13 33
Florida 45 3 0-4 2-3 11 38
Upcoming Games
  • Florida will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Panthers have a W/L % of .308 after a win and .621 after a loss.
  • Colorado will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .522 after a loss.