Mikko Rantanen had two goals and two assists, and J.T. Compher also scored to help Colorado move two points ahead of Dallas atop the Central Division. The Stars hold the potential tiebreaker with more regulation wins, which made MacKinnon’s one-timer from the left circle in the extra period that much more important.
Pavel Francouz made 19 saves in his first start in nearly two months. He had not played since Feb. 7 because of a lower-body injury.
Frank Vatrano had two goals, Adam Henrique and Brett Leason also scored, and the Ducks picked up a third point in two nights to give up ground in the race for the NHL’s worst record and the best odds to win the draft lottery. Lukas Dostal allowed five goals on 46 shots as the Ducks dropped their 11th consecutive game.
Colorado squandered a two-goal lead in the second period before rallying back from a two-goal deficit in the third. Rantanen reached 100 points on the season when he cut it to 4-3 on the power play midway through the period, and MacKinnon’s one-timer with the man advantage tied it up 4-4 with 4:32 remaining.
Anaheim scored twice in a 2:07 span of the third, going in front 3-2 on Vatrano’s wrist shot through traffic at 5:18 and making it 4-2 when Leason scored off the rush.
That seemed like it might be enough to punish the Avalanche, but Colorado’s power play made up for a wasteful start by ending up 3 for 8.
Notes: Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson made his NHL debut. He was a second-round draft pick by Colorado in 2019 and sent to Anaheim last year as part of the trade for defenseman Josh Manson. … Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram (illness) missed his second straight game. … Ducks forward Max Comtois is out for the final three games of the season because of an upper-body injury.
Up next for the Ducks: host Vancouver on Tuesday night.