Mikko Rantanen’s peak energy does not freeze. The power forward did something that only Jari Kurri and Teemu Selänne of the Finns have been able to do before. The Boston Bruins made NHL history in the round.
Jonne Niemeläinen,
STT Sports
Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen reached the 100-point mark in the regular season this season with two goals and two assists in a 5-4 overtime win on the road against the Anaheim Ducks.
Rantanen now has 102 (54+48) points under his belt.
Rantanen is the first Finnish player in the 2000s to break the 100-point milestone in the regular season. Only the Finns have previously been able to do this Jari Kurri and Teemu Selänne. Kurri broke the hundred point mark six times and Selänne four times.
Last week, Rantanen became the third Finn to reach 50 goals in the regular season. In the past, Kurri and Selänne have been able to do the same.
Great diversions and knuckle flip
Rantanen was successful for the first time in the second period, when he flipped after seemingly clumsy deflections to give Colorado a 2-0 lead in front of the goal.
The Finnish star scored his second goal of the night in the third period. Rantanen narrowed the game to 3–4 by dominating directly by Nathan MacKinnon from cross feed.
The Finnish striker, who was chosen as the third star of the match, got his assist from MacKinnon’s 4–4 and 5–4 goals. MacKinnon leveled the match with a superior shot in 55:28 directly from Rantanen’s pass. In the game’s winning hit, the power forward was the second pitcher.
Rantanen got more than 25 minutes of ice time
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar was pleased that the team managed to come back two goals behind in the third period to equalize and eventually win in overtime.
– We got to play with a lot of superiority and our five best players got to be on the ice a lot. When talented and skilled players are given enough time, they eventually succeed, Bednar stated.
MacKinnon (2+1) and Rantanen, chosen as the number one star of the match, were responsible for more than 25 minutes in the match, of which there were more than seven minutes of overtime.
– I am very proud of this team. The boys have done a really hard job, and we are again in first place in our division. We’ve been in playoff mode for a couple of months now, said MacKinnon, one of Colorado’s spiritual leaders.
MacKinnon and Rantanen, who scored 107 points this season, are the first 100-point Colorado duo since the 1995-1996 season. At that time, Avalanche’s current club manager Joe Sakic up to 120 points and Swedish greatness Peter Forsberg totaled 116 power points.
Colorado is locked in the middle division win with three games left in the regular season for it and its biggest threat. The Avalanche now lead the Dallas Stars by two points.
See the NHL tables via this link.
– We are in a good position with only three matches left in the regular season. However, there is still work ahead, as we have seen during the season that situations can change, Bednar stated.
Boston broke the NHL record for wins
The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5–3 away from home. Boston’s hero was a Czech striker David Pastrnak, who scored three goals in the match, i.e. a hat trick. In addition, Pastrnak assisted one goal.
Boston has secured the NHL regular season victory a long time ago. The team has played 80 regular season games and won no fewer than 63 of them, which is a new NHL record.
The Bruins broke the records of the Detroit Red Wings and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Red Wings managed 62 wins in the 1995–96 season and the Lightning in the 2018–2019 season.
Pastrnak, who guaranteed Boston’s victory, now broke the 60-goal mark in the regular season. Only the Edmonton Oilers have scored more goals than the Czech Republic Connor McDavidwho has 64 goals.
Along with Pastrnak, Boston’s players forged power points Tyler Bertuzziwho scored three goals.
Finnish defender of Philadelphia Rasmus Ristolainen played about 26 minutes in the match, as the Flyers had only five defenders in the match. Ristolainen was diligent in the match, shooting five times.
The results of the NHL round:
Philadelphia–Boston 3–5
Anaheim–Colorado and 4–5 COL: Rantanen 2+2