Mikko Rantanen Posts Natural Hat Trick to Help Avalanche Beat Kings 4-2

A Finn-Tastic Night

Mikko Rantanen posted his second hat trick of the season and moved into a share of the NHL's goal-scoring lead in the Avalanche's 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings at Ball Arena on Wednesday. With their third-straight victory, the Burgundy and Blue improved to 9-8-0 on the season.

In addition to Rantanen's fantastic game, Artturi Lehkonen posted a goal and an assist while Nathan MacKinnon added three assists. The reigning Hart Trophy winner leads the NHL in both points (33) and assists (27).

In net for Colorado, Alexandar Georgiev made 13 saves while the Avalanche allowed a season-low 15 shots on goal. In the second period, the Avalanche held the Kings without a shot on goal, marking the first time the Avalanche held their opponent without a shot on goal since the third period against the Arizona Coyotes on March 11, 2023.

"It means a lot," Jared Bednar said when asked about holding the Kings without a shot on goal in the middle frame. "It means our guys were committed on the defensive side of things. That's a really good hockey team over there and in order to do that you gotta have some urgency and commitment on the defensive side of things. It means we're headed in the right direction."

How It Happened

Los Angeles' Adrian Kempe opened the scoring at 32 seconds of the first period off a rebound from the doorstep.

In just his fifth game of the season, Lehkonen scored his third goal of the season to tie the game at 3:40 of the first period from the slot, finishing off the rebound created by his fellow Finn Rantanen. On this tally, MacKinnon and Rantanen assisted on the same goal for the 98th time, setting an Avalanche/Nordiques franchise record, passing Peter Stastny and Anton Stastny.

When asked about the record, Rantanen said his chemistry with MacKinnon has built up through the years.

"I remember playing with Nate my rookie year," Rantanen said. "I could feel it right away. We think the game [in] a lot of similar ways and obviously, with his strengths, maybe our strengths complement each other pretty well."

Kempe scored his second of the game to give the Kings a 2-1 lead at 15:51 of the opening frame with a shot from the right doorstep.

At 16:07 of the second period, Rantanen tied the game with his team-leading 10th goal of the season and his sixth goal in his last five games on a breakaway thanks to a beautiful lead pass from Cale Makar.

Adding to his already impressive night, Rantanen scored his second of the game and 11th of the season at 10:01 of the third period with a shot from the slot off a feed from MacKinnon, who won a board battle before sending the puck to Rantanen.

Rantanen completed his natural hat trick with an empty-net goal from the neutral zone at 18:01 of the third period to double Colorado's lead.

"It felt good," Rantanen said when asked about his hat trick. "It was a good team effort, first of all, and obviously Nate [made a] great pass on the second goal, [and] Cale had a great pass on the breakaway. So guys are making plays around me and I just tired to shoot it and finish tonight."

Next Up

The Avalanche will conclude their four-game homestand on Friday against the Washington Capitals at 7 p.m. MT on Altitude2, My20, and Altitude+.