Mikko Rantanen was effective. The Colorado Avalanche won.
Mikko Rantanen grabbed power points. AOP / USA TODAY SPORTS
The Colorado Avalanche took a crushing victory in the NHL when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings 7-2 in the NHL round of the night.
Avalanche’s heroes were Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, who scored four power points to a man. Rantanen scored 0+4, MacKinnon 1+3 and Makar 3+1.
Detroit started the match strong and led the match in the opening set on two separate occasions. First, Robby Fabbri gave the Red Wings a 1–0 lead, but Colorado got level with Makari’s hit. David Perron gave Detroit the lead again, but MacKinnon scored a 2-2 tie late in the period.
In the second set, Colorado went all out when Artturi Lehkonen and Makar managed to score and took the Avalanche to a 5–2 lead. In the final set, Jonathan Drouin and Jean-Luc Foudy finished 7–2. Joel Kiviranta passed Foudy’s hit.
With the win, Colorado is fourth in the Western Conference. Detroit is sixth in the Eastern Conference.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen works hard
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves as the Buffalo Sabers suffered a 1-2 overtime loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Luukkonen has truly taken the mantle of the number one goalkeeper for himself, as he has now saved ten of Buffalo’s last matches between the posts.
Toronto took a 1-0 lead early in the second period when William Nylander completed the go-ahead goal. Buffalo got level a moment later, when Swedish winger Victor Olofsson scored a 1-1 equalizing goal.
In overtime, Auston Matthews scored a 2–1 winning goal. With that, the attacker has already scored 54 regular season goals this season.