Rantanen's Hat Trick Epitomizes Avs' Never-Say-Die Mentality

The Colorado Avalanche finished their perfect road trip with yet another comeback win. It was their 23rd comeback win of the season – the most in the NHL and franchise history.

The Avs struck first and the eventual differential wasn’t impossible to overcome thanks to a Mikko Rantanen hat trick in their 4-3 win over St. Louis. It was the last leg of a four game road trip after all.

With their win, Colorado pushed their win streak to seven games – their longest streak of the season and their best stretch. They’re 9-1-0 in their last 10 matchups.

The last time they had a longer run was 2021-22 (9-0-0 from March 29 – April 16, 2022).

Winnipeg beat the Rangers on Tuesday as well, so the Avs are tied for first place in the Central Division. The Jets have a game in hand which Colorado can neutralize when they face one another in Ball Arena on April 13th.

If the 2022 season taught us anything, mid-to-late March is the perfect time for Colorado to ramp up to some of their best hockey.

And… I don’t even think we’ve seen this team’s best yet. This post-deadline team continues to be a force to be reckoned with even with illness and injury creeping in and out of the lineup.

Mikko’s Magic Act

You know how sometimes a magician will deceive the crowd by appearing to mess up a trick, only to come through with something even better? That’s kind of how I’d describe Rantanen’s performance in St. Louis.

He put the Avs on the board first thanks to a great set-up from Nathan MacKinnon. Rantanen wristed a no-look shot to the far-side and in.

Then he took a hooking penalty.

Later in the second period, MacKinnon won the o-zone faceoff and Rantanen’s pass attempt went into Jake Neighbors’ skate and Brayden Schenn took the loose puck and fed Neighbors off the rush.

In a two-on-one against Cale Makar, Neighbors sent the pass across the slot to Schenn whipped the puck in off the underside of Justus Annunen’s stick.

This is where an unruly crowd might start to wonder if the rabbit is ever coming out of the hat, but those familiar to Rantanen’s game know that he’s got many tricks up his sleeve.

On a powerplay in the second period, Jonathan Drouin used Val Nichushkin at the netfront to give and go. Drouin leveraged the opportunity to find a seam between Nick Leddy and Pavel Buchnevich to Rantanen in the slot.

Rantanen angled his stick blade to immediately direct Drouin’s pass into the net.

For his finale, Rantanen capitalized on a Blues’ giveaway in the third period to make hats rain from the sky.

Jordan Kyrou didn’t settle the puck on a pass and it was turned over to Val Nichushkin in the left-circle. Nichushkin seized the opportunity and dropped the puck to Rantanen at the top of the slot and he wristed it over Jordan Binnington’s glove.

Mikko Rantanen recorded his seventh career hat trick, tying Owen Nolan and Peter Forsberg for the fourth most in Avalanche/Nordiques history. The only players with more are Peter Stastny (16), Joe Sakic (15) and Michel Goulet (13).

Over his last stretch Rantanen has collected eight goals and 15 assists in his last 13 games, finding the scoresheet in 12 of them.

With 93 points on the year and 13 games left in the season, he’s sixth in NHL scoring just a few slots behind MacKinnon battling for the league lead. Another 100 point season is in sight.

In his career, he has 18 goals and 14 assists in 31 games against the St. Louis Blues in the regular season. Add in the playoffs and he has 14 points in 11 games.

Together MacKinnon and Rantanen lead the league in points for the month of March.

On the whole, the top line had its struggles in the St. Louis game. Usually the most dominant possession line on the team, they experienced more possession-events-against than they created.

St. Louis played a heavy-hitting game and drove inside ice for dangerous chances. They fared pretty well against Colorado’s top-line who committed more mistakes in their end than we’re used to seeing and the Blues made sure to capitalize with 18 high-danger chances in total to Colorado’s nine.

MacKinnon’s Momentum

Nathan MacKinnon secured his point-streak early in the contest. His assist on Rantanen’s opening goal extended his point streak to 16 games, tied for the sixth longest in Avs/Nordiques history. 

Hilariously, MacKinnon is in competition with himself for a different streak record he set earlier this season. He trails Mats Sundin (30 GP in 1992-93), Paul Stastny (20 GP in 2006-07), himself (19 GP in 2023-24), and Peter Stastny (19 GP in 1983-84 and 18 GP in 1981-82).

He’ll have another shot to best himself through this last stretch.

MacKinnon’s work on the first goal deserved a proper shout out too.

Devon Toews battled Robert Thomas along the boards in his end and MacKinnon moved in as relief.

He chipped the pick away and used Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen to start the breakout. MacKinnon beat Justin Faulk to the puck and exited with it through the neutral zone.

He continued to stave off Faulk along the boards and escaped with it in time to slip the puck to Rantanen opposite him in the offensive zone. Rantanen wristed it in from there thanks to MacKinnon’s hard work from end to end.

Mittelstadt’s Start

You might be asking yourself, “Will every piece she writes make mention of Casey Mittelstadt?”

Maybe I will. I love this guy’s fit. Outside the chaotic Minnesota debut for all of the new guys, Mittelstadt has made an impact in every game as an Av.

He’s on a four game point-streak and provided another goal on this road trip to help boost the team.

In the second period he won the offensive zone draw, Drouin swooped in to chip the puck back, and Sam Girard pulled up to assume possession.

Girard carried the puck behind the goal line and slipped a no-look pass between Robert Thomas and Faulk (who had his stick in the lane) to Mittelstadt. Mittelstadt used his quick release to lift the puck into the back of the net.

Before that goal, Mittelstadt checked Pavel Buchnevich in the defensive zone which allowed the Avs to transition and Drouin to get a shot off.

Later during a four-on-four situation in the third period, and something of a penalty kill because Val Nichushkin went to the box, Mittelstadt won the opening faceoff and granted the unit an opportunity to keep their lead. Toews took away the puck, Brandon Duhaime and Miles Wood dished big hits, and Colorado staved off the Blues at a critical moment.

He had a 69% faceoff percentage and won three of four d-zone draws. His line was the best possession line with the most scoring-chances-for of any and very few against.

He played 13:23 minutes, but after the Edmonton game wherein he was used in overtime briefly, it’s clear his trust with Jared Bednar is building. You can imagine that number going up significantly as the team ramps up for the playoffs.

He’s been responsible in both ends and his high-IQ has complemented Colorado’s top-six by making plays and anticipating their reads.

While on the subject of Mittelstadt, Jonathan Drouin deserves his flowers too. Of Colorado’s nine high-danger chances created in the Blues game, Drouin accounted for four of them. He had two assists including his great decision making on the powerplay goal to find space.

I’ve really liked his back half of the season and his commitment to playing the right way. He was rewarded for that commitment with top-six opportunity that he had to fight for, and his game has transformed.