By Jordan Long
The Colorado Avalanche will finish a season high 6 game road trip tomorrow against the Las Vegas Golden Knights. They will be without right winger Mikko Rantanen who is out with a lower-body injury he suffered during the Avs only loss of the season on Monday against the St. Louis Blues. The Avs hope to have him back soon.
Rantanen is on the 1st line for the Colorado Avalanche with Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon. This might be the top line in the NHL. Rantanen can look to pass to Landeskog or MacKinnon for scoring chances. They will also feed him for opportunities to light the lamp. Rantanen has 5 goals and 7 assists for a total of 12 points so far this season.
Rantanen’s injury looked innocent against the Blues. He was skating and his skate got caught in the ice but glided to the bench. He was in pain but nobody hit him. Rantanen is week to week with this injury and it is unknown when he will return to the lineup.
According to ESPN, MacKinnon said, “He is one of the best players in the NHL. When you lose one of the best players in the NHL, it’s tough. We’re not going to replace him, but he got hurt last year and we found a way to get some wins. Hopefully we can weather the storm until he gets back. Mikko is a freak. He will be back, I’m sure, sooner than later. And like I said, we need guys to step up, including myself.”
Colorado must find a skater to take Rantanen’s place on the top line. They have possibilities including Joonas Donskoi and J.T. Compher. Donskoi can do almost everything Rantanen can. He is a fast skater and can use his speed for scoring chances. Donskoi is able to pass to his teammates for them to score goals. Donskoi has 3 goals and 3 assists so far this season. The downside is he hasn’t played on the Landskog line. It might take a few games for them to gel.
Compher makes more sense. He has spent 4 years in Colorado and has played with Landskog and MacKinnon. Compher knows where to pass the puck for them to score.
Colorado may also switch up the lines. This could help Head Coach Jared Bednar decide who plays well with each other when Colorado can’t score goals during the year. Colorado has depth and they are optimistic they will have Rantanen back soon.
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