The Colorado Avalanche are getting some tough news about one of their best players. Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen is getting evaluated following a tough injury he sustained in a game against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. Rantanen got a rough hit in his upper body from Oiler Mattias Ekholm during the contest.
The Oilers ended up crushing the Avalanche in the game, 6-2. Following the contest, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar didn't paint a rosy picture of his star forward's health. The coach says it will take some time to evaluate Rantanen following the shoulder-to-shoulder contact.
“All I saw was one quick replay. He clearly catches him high, because he catches his head,” Bednar said. “My first look at the replay, it didn't look like it was intentional. It just kind of caught him wrong.”
Bednar was disappointed with his team's play against the Oilers on Friday. The team's defense fell apart, giving up six goals. Rantanen had to miss a good amount of the game following the injury, as it occurred early in the second period. It certainly looked like his absence affected the club.
“My concern was our energy. It looked like we lacked it, and with a lack of energy comes a lack of execution,” Bednar added. “We didn't give ourselves a chance.”
Mikko's success
The Avalanche certainly hope Rantanen won't be out for long. He's been a star for the team this season, scoring 40 goals and adding 62 assists. His 102 points are second on the team, outstripped only by Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche will now need to rely even harder on MacKinnon for points, especially if Rantanen isn't good to go for awhile.
The team is having a very strong season with those two young players leading the offense. The Avalanche are second in the Western Conference's Central Division, with a 48-23-6 record. The team has 102 points, with only three points separating them from the Dallas Stars.
Rantanen had been enjoying his second consecutive 100 point season. He was selected by the team in the 2015 NHL draft, as the tenth overall selection that year. The team's fans are hoping he won't be off the ice for too long, as the team makes a run to the playoffs.
No penalty was called on the play against Rantanen. The league may take a look and see if the hit deserves any kind of retroactive disciplinary action. The NHL is cracking down hard this season on hits that result in injuries to players, especially when the upper body is involved, or contact to the head. That was certainly the case in this incident.
The Avalanche are next in action on Sunday, against the Dallas Stars. The game has huge implications in the division race. The puck drops at 10:00 Eastern in Colorado.
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