Takeaways: Mikko Rantanen’s Hat Trick Lifts Avalanche Past Blues

The Colorado Avalanche continue to roll, ending their March roadtrip a perfect 4-0 with a win in St.Louis over the Blues on Tuesday. Mikko Rantanen scored a hat trick, including the game-winning goal, and the new additions from the deadline kept showing their worth.

Here are the key takeaways from Tuesday’s game:

Moose Blues

Rantanen shined on offense, showcasing his elite shot that isn’t talked about enough nationally. His first goal was a corner-painting snipe into the top corner that gave Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington zero chance to make a save. Despite a necessary penalty, Mikko also contributed on the backcheck, hustling to deny a 2-on-1 rush late to secure the win. With the playoffs on the horizon, Rantanen is heating up at the right time. With three goals on Tuesday, he reached 93 points with 14 games remaining in his pursuit of a career first back-to-back 100-point seasons.

The Bakery Is Open

The coaching staff will be glad to come away with a win. However, you have to imagine Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar is less than pleased with the number of turnovers from his squad. Officially, the score line reads nine giveaways. Nearly every one of them was from a blind clear out of the defensive zone from beneath the net, which meant a high-danger chance or the beginning of a cycle for the Blues. The Avalanche gave up three goals on Tuesday but easily could have surrendered more, giving away 12 high-danger chances (via Natural Stat Trick) and 33 shots on goal. Many of those high-danger chances were due to being hemmed in their own zone following a turnover.

Justice For Justus

Rookie goaltender Justus Annunen is an absolute rockstar, and I am tired of pretending he isn’t. The Avalanche have yet to play tight defense in front of their young netminder, and Tuesday’s game was no exception. Annunen projected calm, stable, and intelligent play. To quote Altitude TV’s Mark Rycroft: “He has saved every single puck the defense let him see, so just get out of the way!”

I try not to be hyperbolic on a game where the Avs surrendered three goals against, but saving 30 shots, including nine high-danger chances, is about as good as any goalie Colorado has had since Semyon Varlamov. The Avalanche should thank young Justus for the win tonight in a game where the stats suggest the Blues were the better team on the ice. Not too bad for a rookie ending the night with a .909 save percentage.

Dru It Again

The Avalanche have an increasingly difficult summer ahead with their one-year contracts. While the trade deadline additions have occupied the spotlight, Tuesday was another chance to recognize just how amazing Jonathan Drouin is. It has been a time portal back to his days alongside Nathan Mackinnon on the Halifax Mooseheads in junior league since Drouin’s arrival in Denver. The 28-year-old deserves all the credit in the world for improving his all-around game, especially his backchecking, which has come to an entirely different level. He ended the night with two assists and the third-highest CorsiFor (72.00%).

Killer Instinct

Mittelstadt scored again on Tuesday and has been the single biggest revelation of the Avalanche’s trade deadline success. It is clear that general manager Chris MacFarland identified the penalty kill as the biggest area for improvement, and he nailed every single move there. Yakov Trenin, Brandon Duhaime, and Sean Walker all spent time on the penalty kill tonight and killed off all four penalties on Tuesday. A once struggling PK heading into the deadline has since become one of the league’s best.

Looking Ahead

The Avalanche return home to Ball Arena on Friday evening to welcome in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. MT.

Highlights