Mikko Rantanen’s hat-trick heroics propelled the Colorado Avalanche to a hard-fought 4-3 triumph over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.
“It feels good to help the team and to get the win with it. It’s always better when you win,” Rantanen expressed. “I try to help the team offensively and be responsible defensively.”
Rantanen’s three-goal performance marked his seventh career hat trick and first since April 6, 2023, at San Jose. With 37 goals this season and 14 points in his last six games, Rantanen’s offensive prowess has been instrumental for the Avalanche.
“It felt like today when he got a chance today in the house, he let it go,” praised coach Jared Bednar. “He got rewarded for it.”
Casey Mittelstadt also contributed to the Avalanche’s victory with a goal. The win extended Colorado’s win streak to four games on their current road trip and seven games overall. During this streak, they have outscored their opponents 31-13, making it the longest active run in the NHL.
“This is one of the best stretches we’ve seen them play all year long,” Bednar noted. “Tonight’s game wasn’t perfect. I thought we had some trouble managing the puck tonight. We’ve been going through games without turnovers, and tonight we had more than a handful.”
Despite a valiant effort from the Blues, who saw goals from Nathan Walker, Alexey Toropchenko, and Brayden Schenn, their four-game win streak came to an end. St. Louis remains sixth in the Central Division, trailing the second wild-card spot by four points behind Vegas.
Rantanen’s decisive third goal in the third period secured the victory for Colorado, breaking the tie and ultimately proving to be the game-winner.
“We can’t be turning the pucks over in that area of the ice, especially when we’re not under any pressure in that position,” interim Blues coach Drew Bannister lamented. “We’ve got to make a better play.”
The game was tied at 3 after both teams scored twice in the second period. However, Rantanen’s clutch power-play goal late in the period leveled the score heading into the third.
“It’s a bad penalty,” Bannister said of Jordan Kyrou’s tripping call that led to Rantanen’s equalizer. “It’s a penalty you can’t take at that time of the game.”
Despite the disappointment of falling short, Nathan Walker of the Blues emphasized the importance of resilience: “Definitely would have been nice to get the two points, but I think we have to keep our heads up high, walk out of here and back to work tomorrow.”
