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Mason McTavish and Frank Vatrano scored first-period goals, but the Ducks could not keep up with the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers tonight in a 5-2 loss at Honda Center.

NHL GAMECENTER | DUCKS STREAM

The loss dropped the Ducks to 18-23-6 on the season and 9-12-2 on home ice.

McTavish and Vatrano provided the Anaheim offense as part of an explosive five-goal opening frame. Troy Terry, Ryan Strome and Radko Gudas collected assists. Lukas Dostal made 24 saves in his 27th start of the season.

Sam Reinhart, Evan Rodrigues, Carter Verhaghe, Sam Bennett and Uvis Balinskis scored for the Panthers, who improved to 28-17-3 with their second consecutive win over the Ducks. Veteran netminder Sergei Bobrovsky earned his 19th victory of the season, and the 415th of his NHL career, with stops on 28-of-30 Anaheim attempts.

Anaheim went ahead first with a cathartic power-play goal, snapping a six-game drought on the man advantage. With Florida's Evan Rodrigues sidelined for tripping, Mason McTavish fought off two defenders to keep a loose puck alive for Strome in the right wing corner. The free space allowed Strome to quickly fire a cross-ice pass to Terry, who furthered the favor with a centering pass to Vatrano for a one-timer past Bobrovsky from the low slot.

Frank Vatrano converts centering pass from Troy Terry

With the assist, Terry passed Scott Niedermayer and Adam Henrique for tenth-most points in Ducks history. Terry owns 10 points in his last 10 games, and leads the Ducks with 35 points in 43 appearances this season.

Florida responded four minutes later though on a connection between two of the sport's premier players, a 2-on-1 rush for Reinhart and Tkachuk - with the latter feeding his linemate for a backhand bid in tight around the outstretched Dostal.

Reinhart, who was ejected from the Florida half of the home-and-home set for a knee on Anaheim's Isac Lundestrom, leads the Panthers, and is tied for second in the NHL, with 28 goals this season.

The Panthers would then appear to take full control in the final minutes of the first period, claiming a 3-1 lead on goals by Rodrigues and Verhaeghe just over a minute apart.

But the raucous opening frame would still have one more surprise in store, as on the very next shift McTavish jumped on loose puck at center ice before stepping in and ripping a snap shot over Bobrovsky's glove hand off the rush.

Mason McTavish scores off the rush

McTavish has found the scoresheet in three of his last five games, and now owns 20 points in 41 games played on the year.

That eventful first period would cave to a relatively quiet middle frame, as the 3-2 Florida edge held until the initial moments of the third, when Bennett found free space in the slot and whipped home a one-timer from Mackie Samoskevich circling the net.

Balinskis then provided the dagger for the visitors, beating Dostal through traffic from the high slot after a hardworking forecheck by Verhaeghe.

The Ducks continue a three-game homestand Thursday against Pittsburgh.