Rantanen scored a goal on six shots in Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to Vegas.
Rantanen's up to 41 goals and 103 points through 79 games, ranking eighth in the league in points. His prolific pace has slowed down the stretch, though, as the winger has only two goals and seven points in his last nine outings. Rantanen will look to flip the switch in the playoffs after Thursday's regular-season finale versus the Oilers.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Good to play Saturday
Rotowire
Rantanen (concussion) will draw back into the lineup Saturday versus Winnipeg.
Rantanen, who has missed the past two games, has 40 goals and 102 points in 77 outings this season. He is projected to skate on the second line alongside Valeri Nichushkin and Casey Mittelstadt, which is a departure from his standard role on the top unit with Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche's new assignment for 27-year-old Rantanen likely reflects a desire to balance out their offense before the postseason.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Probable for Saturday
Rotowire
Rantanen (concussion) is likely to return for Saturday's tilt against Winnipeg, Ryan Boulding of NHL.com reports Friday.
Rantanen has missed the Avalanche's last two games because of the concussion. He has 40 goals and 102 points in 77 appearances this season. Although Rantanen typically serves on the top line, he's projected to instead play on the second unit alongside Valeri Nichushkin and Casey Mittelstadt. Colorado might be experimenting with splitting up Nathan MacKinnon and Rantanen in an attempt to spread out their offense ahead of the playoffs. Even if Colorado goes through with that plan, MacKinnon and Rantanen should still share the ice on the power play.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Cleared to absorb contact
Rotowire
Rantanen (concussion) has been cleared for contact in the lead up to Saturday's matchup with Winnipeg, Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now reports.
Rantanen needs just three more points to match his career-high point total from last season (105). The Finn skated in a second-line role at Friday's practice and could be set to fill that spot in the lineup once given the all-clear to play.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Won't play versus Wild
Rotowire
Rantanen (concussion) will not be in the lineup against Minnesota on Tuesday, Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now reports.
Rantanen is expected to begin skating with the team, which could open the door for him to return to action versus the Jets on Saturday, though he hasn't been officially cleared. In his last 12 outings, the Finnish winger has racked up nine goals and nine assists, including five power-play points.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Out Sunday
Rotowire
Rantanen (concussion) won't play Sunday against the Wild, Ryan Boulding of NHL.com reports.
Rantanen departed Friday's game against the Oilers with an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Mattias Ekholm, and he'll remain sidelined Sunday versus Minnesota. Per coach Jared Bednar, Rantanen skated Sunday morning and is day-to-day while in concussion protocol. Chris Wagner figures to slot into the lineup while Rantanen is sidelined, with Zach Parise liking moving into a top-six role.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Exits Friday's contest
Rotowire
Rantanen (upper body) will not return to Friday's game against Edmonton.
Rantanen took a big hit from Mattias Ekholm during the second period and did not come back in the game. Prior to getting injured, Rantanen tallied an assist and two shots on goal. The team should have an update on his status before Sunday's tilt with the Stars. The 27-year-old Rantanen has racked up 102 points through 77 games.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Finishes off Wild
Rotowire
Rantanen scored a goal on four shots in Thursday's 5-2 win over Minnesota. He added one block, one hit and two penalty minutes.
Rantanen finished off the Wild with an empty-net tally, his 40th of the season. The 26-year-old forward is up to 101 points through 76 games -- he's closing in on the career-high 105 points he posted last season.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Hits 100-point mark for second time
Rotowire
Rantanen had three assists Saturday in a 7-4 win over Nashville.
Rantanen hit the 100-point milestone for the second straight season -- he's the sixth player to reach that mark this year, and the Avalanche forward is the sixth player in franchise history with at least two 100-point campaigns. More interestingly, Rantanen has delivered 60 assists for the first time in his career. The Avs triple threat of Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar have been fantasy forces all season, and they all traditionally perform out-of-this-world in the postseason. All three are among the all-time NHL leaders in career points per game during the playoffs. Four words: money in the bank.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Slides assist in loss
Rotowire
Rantanen had an assist, one shot on net and one block in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Canadiens.
Rantanen redirected a pass from Devon Toews to Nathan MacKinnon for Colorado's lone goal just 43 seconds into the game. After having his 14-game point streak halted in Sunday's improbable comeback win over the Penguins, Rantanen will attempt to begin a new one. He's up to 97 points through 72 games and is threatening last season's career-high 105 points.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Three more points in win
Rotowire
Rantanen scored twice on three shots, added an assist and went plus-3 in Friday's 6-1 win over the Blue Jackets.
Rantanen's second goal came on the power play. The winger has five multi-point efforts over his last seven appearances, racking up eight goals, nine helpers and seven power-play points in that span. Rantanen is up to 39 tallies, 96 points, 236 shots on net, 48 PIM and a plus-16 rating through 70 appearances. He needs nine points to match last year's total, though he likely won't hit his career high of 55 goals.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Hat trick vs. St. Louis
Rotowire
Rantanen scored three goals in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Blues.
Rantanen opened the scoring in the first period and added a power-play marker in the second before capping the hat trick with the game-winner in the third, beating Jordan Binnington from the slot off a Blues' turnover. It was certainly an impressive rebound effort from Rantanen after he saw an 11-game point streak end versus Edmonton on Saturday -- the 27-year-old winger now has eight goals and 23 points in his last 12 contests. He's up to 93 points (37 goals, 56 assists) through 69 games this year as he looks to top the 100-point mark for the second straight campaign.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Produces pair of points
Rotowire
Rantanen scored a goal on five shots and added a power-play assist in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Canucks.
Rantanen sparked the Avalanche's comeback by getting them on the board late in the second period. He also helped out on Nathan MacKinnon's third-period marker. During his 11-game point streak, Rantanen has five goals and 15 assists, including six power-play points. The 27-year-old winger is up to 34 goals, 90 points (37 on the power play), 225 shots on net and a plus-13 rating through 67 outings overall.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Shreds Flames with four points
Rotowire
Rantanen scored twice, dished two assists and went plus-3 in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Flames.
Rantanen opened and closed the scoring Tuesday, and he also assisted on goals by linemates Valeri Nichushkin and Nathan MacKinnon. This was Rantanen's second four-point game in his last three outings, and he's riding a 10-game, 18-point streak. The winger is up to 33 goals, 88 points, 220 shots on net and a plus-14 rating through 66 contests overall while playing primarily on the top line.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Point steak at nine games
Rotowire
Rantanen had a power-play assist, six shots on net, two hits and four penalty minutes in Friday's 2-1 overtime win over Minnesota.
Rantanen picked up the primary helper on Valeri Nichushkin's overtime winner. Rantanen has two goals and 12 assists during his nine-game point spree. He has picked up at least one assist in all nine games during that stretch. The 27-year-old forward has already tallied 53 assists through 65 games, nearing his career-high of 56 helpers from the 2018-19 and 2021-22 seasons.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Riding seven-game point streak
Rotowire
Rantanen registered an assist, four shots on goal and a plus-3 rating in Monday's 5-0 win over the Blackhawks.
Rantanen helped out on a Cale Makar goal in the second period. The assist extended Rantanen's point streak to seven games (two goals, seven assists). The winger continues to be an excellent scorer in his own right even while seeing most of his playing time alongside Nathan MacKinnon. Rantanen is up to 79 points, 203 shots on net, 40 PIM, 42 hits, 39 blocked shots and a plus-8 rating over 63 contests this season.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Extends streak to five games
Rotowire
Rantanen recorded an assist and one shot in Thursday's 5-0 win over the Blackhawks.
Rantanen picked up the primary helper on Devon Toews' second-period strike that gave Colorado a 4-0 lead. The assist extended Rantanen's point streak to five games, during which the Finn has two goals and five assists.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Sets up MacKinnon
Rotowire
Rantanen had an assist, one shot on net and two penalty minutes in Thursday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Red Wings.
As part of a sequence where the Avalanche's top line flew around the Detroit zone, Rantanen controlled a loose puck in the corner and found Nathan MacKinnon for Colorado's lone tally. It was the fifth point in the last five games for Rantanen, who has 43 assists through 58 games.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Slides assist in win
Rotowire
Rantanen had an assist, two shots on net, one block and one hit in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Canucks.
Rantanen had a hand in Artturi Lehkonen's empty-net tally and has four points over the last four games. Rantanen hasn't scored over the last three contests, the longest stretch of futility since a nine-game drought from late-November to early-December. Rantanen has 29 goals, 42 assists, 109 shots and 36 PIM over 57 games.
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Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen: Generates assist in loss
Rotowire
Rantanen had an assist, four shots on net, two blocks and two penalty minutes over 26:25 of ice time in Thursday's 6-3 loss to Tampa Bay.
Rantanen fired a perfect pass to a streaking Bowen Byram to put Colorado on top in the first period. Unfortunately for the Avalanche, the Lightning responded with two quick strikes before the period was over. It was the first of two blown leads by Colorado, which lost for the fifth time on its concluded six-game road trip. Rantanen is up to 70 points through 55 games.
