Mikko Rantanen and the Colorado Avalanche will start the second round of the NHL playoffs against St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.
Mikko Rantanen played a stunning 92-point regular season. Now the Man of the Ascendant and the Colorado Avalanche are fighting to win the Stanley Cup. ZUMAWIRE / MVPHOTOS
- Mikko Rantanen rushed to the 100-point limit in the regular season.
- Colorado last won the Stanley Cup in 2001.
- The Avalanche will face the St. Louis Blues in the second round.
Mikko Rantanen hit a soaring 92-point regular season on the board. The TPS kennel had a chance to reach the magical limit of one hundred power points.
Towards the end of the season, however, the striker fell ill and had to miss four games.
– I was sore. I did not have a corona, but some other disease. I don’t know if it reduced my chances to a hundred points. I could always joke, but I haven’t thought about it, Rantanen tells Iltalehti.
Rantanen finally played 75 matches in the regular season and scored 36 + 56 = 92 points. The man’s plus-minus stats show a staggering number of +35.
Hard bound
Only a hundred points out of the Finns have been able to play Jari Kurri and Teemu Selänne. Kurri reached the limit a total of six times, most recently in the 1988–89 season, and Selänne a total of three times, most recently in the 1998–99 season.
No Finnish player has scored a hundred points in the NHL regular season this millennium.
Rantanen, the man of the climbers, has now played a total of 408 regular season matches in the NHL. They have generated 408 power points (165 + 243).
Hard to do.
Rantanen, Kurri and Selänne are the only Finns to have played in the NHL regular season.
Nashville crashed
Colorado Avalanche and Rantanen knocked Nashville straight in the opening round with a 4-0 win.
– That’s fine. A home benefit was maintained. Especially winning the second game in the series was important to us. It went on overtime. Good thing I went through four games.
Rantanen’s puck workshop knocked out 0 + 5 points in four games.
– That’s ok. Our chain was good. He had a lot of scoring places himself. The games are now getting harder round by round. Needs a lot of self-improvement.
“Are you going to the World Cup?”
Mikael Granlund (right) and Mikko Rantanen faced the NHL in the playoffs. AOP
The end of a series of playoff matches is always an emotional moment. The second and long season of the other team is over. The disappointment is huge.
The other team continues to pursue their dream, the Stanley Cup.
At the end of the match series, the teams shake hands and the bearded bearded men hug each other. After the Colorado and Nashville playoff series ended, Rantanen discussed on the ice for a moment Mikael Granlundin with.
– I told Mike you had a great time playing. Thank you for the match series. And I have to admit that I also asked if you are going to Finland for the World Cup, Rantanen reveals.
Did you get an answer?
– I didn’t get quite decent. The game had ended about a minute and a half earlier. It was probably a bit of an untimely question.
– Hi, I was like a reporter, immediately asking that. Or I really have time to ask before the reporters, Rantanen laughs.
– It’s good that Mikke went to the race. He is a great help to Finland, as we have seen.
Next is the Blues
Mikko Rantanen and the other stars of Avalanche must be able to score if the team is to win the St. Louis Blues. ZUMAPRESS / MVPHOTOS
The Avalanche will face the St. Louis Blues in the second round of the playoffs. The stake is the final seat of the NHL Western Conference.
– I will face a holistic and heavy team, because they have won the pitcher once. Of course there is also skill. The top of the team is really skillful.
The Blues won the Stanley Cup in June 2019.
– The best has to be put on the table to be able to win. You always have to believe in your own possibilities. There will be a physical and good match series.
“From vacation” to the lathe
Avalanche last played on May 9th. So the team has quite a “springbreak” below.
It’s a pretty unusual break at this time of season. This is explained by the fact that Avalanche broke the first round of its series on the fastest possible schedule.
Many other match series stretched to seven matches.
– Yes, it’s already been waiting for you to play. Yes, that intensity can be found in these games. We have had good, sharp workouts.
– And there are always knocks. It can also be a good idea to rest your body and then be able to make a seven-game set again. No break is a nuisance.
Avalanche spring?
Edmonton Oilers’ Darnell Nurse tackles Mikko Ranta. Jason Franson
The last time the Stanley Cup was celebrated in Denver was in the spring of 2001. At that time, the renowned Canadian coach Bob Hartley piloted the champion of Avalanche. In the final, the New Jersey Devils fell.
Avalanche is a top team. It scored the second most points in the regular season. Only the Florida Panthers were above. There are many top players on the team, and it was further strengthened at the March transfer limit.
– I think the team has the right feel. But I don’t think much ahead. Better now go ahead game at a time. At least it works best for me, says Rantanen.