Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen has four points in return from injury
Some players take a few games to get back up to speed after returning from an injury, but Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen only needed a couple minutes to start producing.
In his first game since sustaining an apparent leg injury on Oct. 21, the 23-year-old was able to score a goal and assist on three others against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.
Four points in his first game after being sidelined for over a month is some way to let the hockey world know about his return.
Rantanen was a massive reason why the Avalanche were able to walk away with the 7-3 win.
His first point of the night was a gorgeous primary assist from behind the net on this Nazem Kadri goal that tied things up at one in the first period.
A beautiful feed from Mikko Rantanen to Nazem Kadri for the equalizer.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/NycaddiMFw
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) December 1, 2019
Colorado proceeded to lay it on them, scoring a total of seven unanswered goals to hold a 7-1 lead just over halfway through the game.
After two periods of action, Rantanen had secured all the stats he needed.
Mikko Rantanen's first game back after missing a month:
• 10:43 TOI
• 1 goal, 3 assists (2 primary)
• 62% possession / 63% shot share
• 1 penalty drawn, 2 takeaways
• There's still a whole period left— Yahoo Sports NHL (@YahooSportsNHL) December 1, 2019
The forward did not return in the third — presumingly for precautionary reasons after he went off in just under 11 minutes of ice-time.
With the Avalanche still not completely healthy — captain Gabriel Landeskog and defenceman Erik Johnson are the two notable absences at this time — one can only imagine what this lineup could look like once they get all their pieces back together.
Through 10 games, Rantanen has six goals and 16 points this season.
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