Rantanen ties it late, completes hat trick in OT, Avalanche defeat Blues

ST. LOUIS -- Mikko Rantanen scored a hat trick, including the game-winner 29 seconds into overtime and the tying goal with nine seconds left in the third period, for the Colorado Avalanche in a 3-2 win against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Sunday.

Rantanen was in front and tapped in a loose puck after defenseman Cale Makar threw the puck towards Blues goalie Jordan Binnington in overtime. A video review initiated by the NHL Situation Room confirmed no goalie interference.
"I think we knew what to do and we just needed to win," Rantanen said. "We tried to execute the game plan and we got it done in the first shift. Good play by Cale and
'Val' [Nichushkin]
."
With goalie Pavel Francouz pulled for an extra skater, Rantanen tapped in a loose puck that was behind Binnington to tie it 2-2. It came after Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews' shot ricocheted in the crease, hit forward J.T. Compher and dropped in the crease.
The Situation Room also looked at a potential hand pass by Compher on the play but ruled he did not direct the puck with his hand to Rantanen.
"Right when it landed, it hit 'Comphs' in the stomach and bounced over there," Rantanen said. "It was a good play by 'Toewser' and Cale to get it over there. Toewser [made a] good play just to touch it to the net, and it was a 2-on-1 there. We got a bounce, and I think we earned that one."

Francouz made 30 saves for Colorado (14-10-2), which won for the first time in five games after a four-game skid (0-3-1).
"I liked our competitiveness all night," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "It wasn't the perfect game from us by any stretch, but I did like the way we competed and the way we stuck with it. I think everyone was emotionally invested in the game. ... To be able to stick with it, go into the 6-on-4, 6-on-5 and get a few pucks to the net, a few looks at it, get the equalizer and finish it off in OT is what you want to see from your team there."
Vladimir Tarasenko and Brandon Saad scored, and Binnington made 28 saves for the Blues (12-15-1), who are 1-5-1 in their past seven games. They host the Nashville Predators on Monday.
"We did a lot of good things, but we're all disappointed we didn't win the game, including all the players that played the game, everybody," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "We're all disappointed, but it's a good point. We did a lot of good things, like I said, and we've got to keep building off it and keep working. We've got a tough game again tomorrow coming in."
Saad outmuscled Compher to a loose puck and snapped a shot past Francouz with 1:36 remaining in the third to give the Blues a 2-1 lead with forward Brayden Schenn in the penalty box for interference.

Rantanen's goal at 10:58 of the second period gave Colorado a 1-0 lead when a 2-on-1 ensued after St. Louis dumped a puck behind the Avalanche goal and had three skaters caught behind the net. Rantanen beat Binnington with a wrist shot high on the short side from the right circle.
Tarasenko tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 8:01 of the third, a shot from a sharp angle near the goal line after a pass from Ryan O'Reilly with Makar in the penalty box, a double minor for high-sticking.
The Blues penalty kill, which came in ranked last in the NHL, was 3-for-3 in the game with a short-handed goal.
"I thought we did a better job of committing to the kill and being tighter and just overall, as a team group, not getting too extended out there," Saad said. "So, it was a better job for that aspect. So, that's a positive, but like I said, we've got to keep moving forward and improving."
NOTES: Rantanen has five hat tricks and 25 multigoal games in the NHL. … Makar has 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 16 games against St. Louis. ... Colorado forward Artturi Lehkonen played 20:20 after missing the previous three games with a concussion. ... O'Reilly has 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists) in 26 games against the Avalanche, and four points (two goals, two assists) in a three-game point streak. ... Blues defenseman Torey Krug played 20:53 after missing the previous two games with an upper-body injury. ... Berube coached his 300th NHL game with St. Louis, joining Joel Quenneville (593), Ken Hitchcock (363) and Brian Sutter (320). ... Blues forward Noel Acciari had a Blues-high six hits and won 11 of 12 face-offs (92 percent) in 15:50.