Rantanen Keeps Scoring as Goal Streak Now at Six Games

Mikko Rantanen is now one of just five players in Colorado Avalanche history to record a goal in six straight games.
Rantanen extended his career-long scoring streak on Tuesday night with a power-play tally late in the first period of the Avs' 7-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks at Ball Arena.
"I'm feeling healthy and feeling good on the ice," Rantanen said. "Obviously playing with [Gabriel Landeskog] and [Nathan MacKinnon] is a pleasure for me. I just try and work as hard as I can and do the right things with the puck, and sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you get rewarded. It's been good for now, and I just have to keep going."

He is the first Colorado player to score in six straight games since Nathan MacKinnon had a season-opening six-game run from Oct. 4-16, 2018. Only MacKinnon, Milan Hejduk, Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg have also had goal-scoring streaks of at least six games.
Rantanen is now tied for the NHL lead in goals, and his tally in the series-opener with the Sharks marked his third with the man advantage this year, which is tied for third-most in the league.
The right wing scored less than a minute into Colorado's first power play of the evening, as he was on the receiving end of a MacKinnon pass at the right circle and sent a one-timer into the net. After trailing 1-0 midway through the first period, Rantanen's marker was the Avs' third in a 3:07 span and part of a 5-0 run that incited the club's victory.

Now in his fifth full NHL season, one of the lessons he's learned in that time is that if you have space and MacKinnon has the puck, be prepared for it to come your way.
"Playing with him, you always have to be ready," Rantanen said. "It might come from anywhere, a pass, so you always have to be ready. I've learned that the last few years playing with him. His scoring ability, everybody knows, but his passing and stuff like that, it's phenomenal."
Rantanen's six outings in a row with a goal is tied for the second longest in Avalanche history, with only Hejduk (2002-03) and Sakic (twice, 1997-98 and 1999-00) having longer with seven-game streaks.

GOALS GALORE

The Avs scored at least seven goals for the second straight home game, marking the first time the club has ever accomplished the feat since moving to Denver in 1995-96. Colorado had defeated the St. Louis Blue 8-0 in its previous contest at Ball Arena on Jan. 15.
"I thought all four lines were ready to skate, we were tenacious on pucks, I thought we were stronger on pucks in the offensive zone, moving our feet whenever we were touching it," said head coach Jared Bednar postgame. "Just a little more in-sync for me. I thought our D did a nice job staying part of our offense, and we got some timely goals and some nice performances from our guys."

It is the third time in franchise history that the club has scored seven or more goals multiple times in its first seven outings, having also done so in 2005-06 and in 1983-84 as the Quebec Nordiques. Only three other teams have tallied seven or more goals in a game so far in the 2020-21 campaign--Montreal, Vancouver and Dallas--all doing so once.
"Maybe it's the altitude, I don't know," said Rantanen jokingly. "Maybe the road team are sucking wind too much, I don't know, but let's keep that going."

GIRARD KEEPS ROLLING ALONG

Samuel Girard skated in his 227th straight regular-season contest, passing Karlis Skrastins for the second-longest ironman streak by an Avalanche defenseman (since 1995-96), but more importantly he continues to make an impact on the ice.
Girard, who has never missed a contest in the main campaign since the team acquired him from the Nashville Predators as part of a three-team trade on Nov. 5, 2017, scored his first goal of the season at 5:48 of the second period that extended Colorado's lead to 5-1 at the time. He finished with two shots and two blocked shots in 19:08 of ice time, which included 2:17 on the power play and 2:06 on the penalty kill.
"Sam has come back and somehow looks even stronger than he was last year and even quicker than he was last year," Bednar said. "Most nights, he's making the game look pretty easy. You watch him go back for pucks, and when he picks up pucks in the neutral zone, he picks them up in some tight areas at times under pressure. He just seems to always be able to maneuver his way out of it or make the right play at the right time."
The Roberval, Quebec, native now has six points on the season (one goal, five assists), which is tied for sixth among league defensemen and two behind teammate Cale Makar for the positional lead.

RETURN OF THE CONDOR

After missing the previous three games to help get his conditioning back up, Erik Johnson returned to the Avs' lineup for his second contest of the year and impressed.
Johnson had three shots on goal in 19:00 of ice time and set up Colorado's first goal of the game, as his shot from the point was redirected into the back of the net by teammate Joonas Donskoi with 3:45 left in the first period. The Avalanche went on to add two more scores before the intermission.
"I thought he was outstanding tonight," Bednar said of the veteran defenseman. "I thought he got better as the game went on. The puck movement was pretty simple, but it was firm, exactly well executed, tape-to-tape. He did a lot of good things on the defensive side of the puck. I thought it was just a great game from him."
Johnson had missed all of training camp and the first two games of the season while in the league's COVID-19 protocol. He did skate 11:47 in the team's Jan. 19 outing at the Los Angeles Kings, but he rotated in on the third pairing as the Avalanche used seven defensemen for that contest and had to use him due to roster restraints with the salary cap.

MORE NOTES

The Avalanche finished 1-for-5 on the power play and has scored a league-leading 11 man-advantage goals this season. Colorado held the Sharks scoreless on five power-play opportunities and has not allowed a man-advantage tally on home ice this season (11-for-11).
Nathan MacKinnon finished with a season-high six shots, recording a shot for the 227th straight game to tie Joe Sakic's franchise record for consecutive regular-season games with a shot on goal. MacKinnon's streak, which began on Oct. 14, 2017 at Dallas, is the longest current stretch in the NHL.
Valeri Nichushkin notched his first goal of the season and finished with two points for the 11th multi-point game of his career and first since Feb. 4, 2020 at Buffalo. Nichushkin's marker was also the second short-handed goal of his career (also: Dec. 4, 2019 at Toronto).
Brandon Saad scored twice, his first multi-goal performance since Feb. 1, 2020 at Arizona.
Cale Makar recorded three assists, the second game this season he has registered three assists (also: Jan. 15 vs. St. Louis). It's the fifth time in his career he has produced three or more points in a game.
Andre Burakovsky notched two assists, his second multi-point game of the season. Burakovsky, who missed three games due to injury, has five points (two goals, three assists) in the four contests he's appeared in.