Rantanen Named NHL Third Star of the Week

Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen was named the NHL's third star for the week ending on Oct. 28, the league announced on Monday.
Rantanen, who turns 22 years old today, registered three goals and four assists over the past seven days to increase his season total to a league-leading 21 points (five goals, 16 assists). His seven points last week tied him with four other players for the NHL high in that timespan.

He matched a career high with four points (one goal, three assists) on Friday to help the Avalanche defeat the Ottawa Senators 6-3 at Pepsi Center. It was the fifth four-point performance in his career and all five have come since the start of 2017-18, the most of any player in the NHL.

Rantanen began the week with a two-goal outing, his fifth career multi-goal game, in the Avalanche's 4-1 win at the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday to wrap up a three-game road trip.
It was the ninth consecutive game in which the Nousiainen, Finland, native recorded a point, matching the longest scoring streak to begin a season in Avalanche history (since 1995-96). He saw his point streak come to an end on Wednesday when Colorado fell 1-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Pepsi Center.

To finish the week, Rantanen assisted on Gabriel Landeskog's third period tally at the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. It was his NHL-leading 16th helper in October, tying an Avalanche record for points and assists in the month set by Joe Sakic in the 1996-97 campaign.
This is Rantanen's first time being named to the NHL's weekly stars. Gabriel Landeskog was the last Avalanche player to be honored in the league's accolades, earning first star honors for the week of Oct. 15-21, 2018. It is the first time Colorado has had players named to the weekly Three Stars in back-to-back weeks.
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby was named the league's first star of the week while Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele earned second star honors.