Rantanen Skates in 300th NHL Game

Mikko Rantanen appeared in his 300th NHL game, but there wasn't much celebrating for him or his Colorado Avalanche teammates afterward.
In the start of a two-game series, the Avalanche couldn't hold off the San Jose Sharks' second-half rally and fell 6-2 on Monday at SAP Center. San Jose scored four of its six unanswered in the third period after Colorado led 2-0 early in the middle frame.
"I think we kind of gave this win to them," said Rantanen postgame. "I don't think we gave up too many chances. Start of the third period, it's a 2-2 hockey game on the road, and the first five minutes we're in the D-zone for all five minutes. I don't think that is the start (to the third period) that you're looking for when you're in a road game. We need to keep it simple and get a better start, and then they get momentum and score four goals (in the period). It's very frustrating."

Rantanen was held off the scoresheet in Northern California to end his three-game point streak, but the right wing has still produced handily in the first quarter of his fifth full season in the league. He has eight points in his last seven games (one goal, seven assists) and leads the squad with eight goals and four power-play markers. After 19 outings in the 2020-21 campaign, the forward ranks second on the Avalanche with 18 points, three behind leader Nathan MacKinnon (21).
Chosen at No. 10 overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, Rantanen is the 10th player from his selection class to reach the 300-game milestone and has registered 107 goals and 161 assists since making his NHL debut on Oct. 8, 2015. He entered the outing in San Jose ranked fifth among members of his draft class in points (268) and fourth with a 0.90 points-per-game average (minimum 20 games played).
On Monday, Rantanen had four shots and two takeaways in 21:14 of ice time while skating on a trio with Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. The line had 13 of Colorado's 35 shots in the game, but Rantanen said the combo and the rest of the squad need to be just as good on the defensive side of the ice in the rematch against the Sharks on Wednesday to wrap up the Avs' four-game road trip.
"Breaking out the puck was tough today. You need all five guys to do it, obviously the D, and the forwards need to help," Rantanen said. "I don't think we did a good enough job to help our D. They have a good forecheck, so we just have to sort it out in the next game. I think we need to break the puck out better. I think that is how we'll get our game going."

CLIMBING THE CHARTS

Gabriel Landeskog scored on the power play in the second period to record the 203rd goal of his career to pass Peter Forsberg for sole possession of third place in all-time tallies in Avalanche history (since 1995-96). The man-advantage marker was the 54th of his career, tying Forsberg for the fourth-most since the franchise moved to Denver.
Landeskog also appeared in his 650th career game, tying Anton Stastny for ninth place all-time in Colorado/Quebec Nordiques franchise history.
Assisting on Landeskog's tally was Nathan MacKinnon, who extended his point streak to three games and recorded his 321st helper of his career. MacKinnon is now tied with Alex Tanguay for eighth place in assists in franchise history and fourth in the Avs annals.

BANGED UP DEFENSE

Cale Makar missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury and is not in California with the team. He returned to Denver to receive treatment.
The defenseman, who is listed as day-to-day, has 14 points (one goal, 13 assists) in 15 contests this year. He also missed two games on Feb. 14 and 16 with an upper-body ailment.
Fellow blueliner Bowen Byram missed his first contest of the season on Monday with an upper-body injury after apparently aggravating something following the pregame skate earlier in the day.
"We found out later on in the morning that he was having some trouble and he was staying to see the medical staff, so they decided he wasn't ready to play for tonight," Bednar said of Byram.
Defensemen Dennis Gilbert (upper body) and Erik Johnson (upper body), forward Matt Calvert (upper body) and goaltender Philipp Grubauer (lower body) are also currently on the Avs' injury list.

STAYING BUSY

The Avalanche was playing its first of 17 games scheduled for March, the busiest month in franchise history.
Colorado previous high was 16 games in a month, which it had completed five times before. The Avs have 16 games on the calendar in April this season.
The Avalanche is in midst of a stretch where it will play six games in nine days and won't have more than one day between contests for the remainder of the regular season. Colorado will play its final 37 games in 67 days.
"We're trying to give them the time to rest, not just physically but also mentally from the game, so there's lots of days off. Even on the road," Bednar said after Monday's morning skate. "Right now there isn't a lot of practice time… I think that's just the way this year's going to go with the schedule as condensed as it is. It is just about getting in rest and recover, and hopefully they can go and empty the tank every game night and then get them the rest and recovery they need and go again."