Colorado prospect defenseman Conor Timmins knotted the contest at 1-1 with an unassisted tally while on the power play at 8:52 of the middle frame, but the Avs regained the lead before the end of the period. Matt Nieto found the back of the net at 16:08 of the stanza and Rantanen lit the lap for the second time in the matchup less than three minutes later.
Namestnikov finished the outing with two points after also assisting on Nieto's goal. Erik Johnson and Nathan MacKinnon also collected a helper each on the Avalanche's third marker.
In addition to assisting on Rantanen's first tally, Grubauer made 22 saves in the win while Eagles netminder Hunter Miska stopped 23 shots. Real-life Miska earned a 16-6-3 record, 2.48 goals-against average and .924 save percentage during the 2019-20 season.
The Eagles finished the AHL campaign in second place in the Pacific Division standings with a 34-18-3 record and 72 points after 56 games. T.J. Tynan was the team's leading scorer with 47 points (five goals, 42 assists) while defenseman and second-team AHL All-Star Jacob MacDonald was second with 42 points (16 goals, 26 assists).
Stay tuned to ColoradoAvalanche.com for more information on the club's NHL 20 game simulations and the opponent for next week's matchup.
