Mikko Rantanen was significantly impacted after being promoted to Colorado Avalanche’s top line with Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon.
Rantanen scored three goals after joining the top line in the second period, leading the Avalanche to a 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.
“He was outstanding tonight,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “Right from the start, he was physical on the forecheck, getting pucks back, and creating opportunities in the offensive zone.”
Bednar believed that moving Rantanen to the right wing on MacKinnon’s line provided the spark they needed.
“The MacKinnon line was just average in the first, so we switched it up and put Rantanen with them, and they immediately scored a couple of goals,” Bednar said. “Mikko was definitely the driving force behind our offense tonight.”
This hat trick was Rantanen’s second in his career, the first coming against Montreal on Feb. 7, 2017.
“I’ve had some offensive struggles lately, but I got the bounces tonight,” Rantanen said. “You just have to keep grinding, and the chances will come eventually. Tonight was one of those nights.”
Ian Cole and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare each added a goal and an assist for Colorado, while Philipp Grubauer made 28 saves to secure his fourth win against the Devils.
Blake Coleman and Jesper Boqvist scored in the third period for the Devils, ending their season-best three-game winning streak. Mackenzie Blackwood made 29 saves.
“They were the better team,” Devils interim coach Alain Nasreddine admitted. “For some reason, we couldn’t get to our style of play tonight. We never really gave ourselves a chance, except for Blackie.”
After a scoreless first period, the Avalanche took control with two goals in the second period and another in the opening seconds of the third.
Rantanen, who has 10 goals in 17 games since returning from an injury, scored at 11:23 of the second period. MacKinnon made a dazzling spin move and found Rantanen for a shot from the right circle.
Cole extended the lead with a point shot with 4:26 left in the period, capitalizing shortly after Bellemare won a faceoff.
Rantanen’s second goal came just 8 seconds into the final period, assisted by rookie defenseman Cale Makar. He completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal with 16 seconds remaining.
Coleman narrowed the gap to 3-1 at 6:36 of the third. Still, Bellemare responded with a controversial goal at 13:49. After Matt Calvert inadvertently tripped Blackwood behind the net, Bellemare fired a shot into the open goal. The Devils challenged the play, but the ruling stood.
“It’s a tough call, every play is different,” Devils forward Kyle Palmieri said.
Blackwood felt tripped but acknowledged that the call didn’t cost them the game.
The Avalanche had a goal disallowed in the first period when Donskoi used a high stick to knock a rebound into the net.
Game Notes:
- Avalanche C Nazem Kadri played in his 600th NHL game.
- Cale Makar has 23 assists and 32 points this season.
- Avalanche D Samuel Girard has eight assists in the last three games.
- No. 1 overall draft pick Jack Hughes missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury.
- Devils F Jesper Bratt was out with a lower-body injury.
- Devils recalled F Ben Street from Binghamton (AHL).
UP NEXT:
- Avalanche: Visit the Islanders on Monday night as part of their New York area tour.
- Devils: Host the Islanders on Tuesday night.
