Recap: Rantanen records ninth career hat trick, Avs defeat Kings 4-2

7 hours ago  /  Mile High Hockey  /  Read Time: 2 minutes 22 seconds

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images


Mikko Rantanen had a game for the record books and the Avalanche have now won three games in a row. It’s Mikko time!
Mikko Rantanen scored twice in the third period to notch his ninth career hat trick, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 for their third consecutive victory.
Rantanen’s goal at 10:01, his second of the evening, gave Colorado the lead in the third period, and he added an empty-net goal with 1:59 remaining to seal the deal. Artturi Lehkonen also scored and Alexandar Georgiev made 13 saves on 15 shots for the Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon, who had three assists, extended his season-opening home point streak to 11 games. Los Angeles goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who helped lead Colorado to a third Stanley Cup championship in 2022, made 18 saves before leaving early in the third period with an injury. David Rittich finished with three saves in relief. Adrian Kempe scored both goals for Los Angeles.
First Period
The opening frame should have been billed, “Don’t Blink!” Kempe scored on Georgiev just 32 seconds into the game when the latter coughed up a rebound at the top of the crease. But it didn’t take long for the Avalanche to respond when Lehkonen capitalized on a Rantanen-fired rebound and chipped it in over the leg of Kuemper.
About 12 minutes later, it was Kempe once again and it was a dynamite blast. He one-timed a shot from below the right circle into the net off a cross-ice pace from longtime King Anze Kopitar to give the Kings a 2-1 advantage.
Second Period
As they say, the higher they rise, the harder they fall. That turned out to be the case for Los Angeles. Rantanen tied the game at 2 on a breakaway at 16:07 of the second period. Cale Makar connected with Rantanen on a stretch pass at the bar line in their own zone and Rantanen was off to the races, firing a beautiful shot over the blocker.
Third Period
After Kuemper went down, the Avalanche continued to fire on all cylinders, and Rantanen led the charge. He scored his second of the game at 10:01 of the third period, beating Rittich five-hole to give his team a 3-2 advantage. Exactly eight minutes later on the dot, Rantanen finished the night with an empty-net goal for the hat trick, and as tradition, fans sent their hats on a descent to the ice to honor Rantanen’s incredible performance. And with that, the Avalanche won 4-2.

Takeaways
First and foremost, we hate to see anyone get hurt, especially a guy who gave our team so much in the past. Kuemper has had a solid year overall, but this is also the second time he has gone down with an injury already this season. We wish him the best in his recovery.
Let’s give credit where credit is due. The Avalanche played very well tonight. The Kings failed to register a shot on goal in the second period. That’s pretty impressive given some of the players on their roster. Once Los Angeles hit that dry spell, it took them nearly 24 minutes to record another shot.
However, the Avalanche struggled with the man advantage. Colorado failed to record a shot in its first three power plays, which is unusual. The power play has often been one of their greatest strengths, but that was not the case tonight.
And last but certainly not least, Jared Bednar coached in his 635th game with Colorado, breaking a tie with Michel Bergeron for the most in franchise history. Congratulations, coach.
Upcoming
Colorado returns to Ball Arena Friday to take on Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. local time. ...

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