Mikko Rantanen gets injured by Mattias Ekholm in Avs Vs. Oilers

Mikko Rantanen got injured and had to leave the game after a hit from Mattias Ekholm in last night's game featuring the Colorado Avalanche and the Edmonton Oilers.

Two of the best teams in the NHL faced off, and the show didn't disappoint.

In the first few shifts of the game, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon had already made their presence felt and four goals were scored in the first period.

Dynamics shifted in the second period, when Mattias Ekholm forced Mikko Rantanen to leave the game after a hit.


Rantanen was trying to play the puck at the Avs' blue line, and Ekholm landed a solid hit on the Avs' star. The hit didn't seem so much dangerous, but Rantanen's fall on the boards seemed more problematic.

The player struggled to get up, and was eventually helped by a referee to exit to the locker room.

Watch the scene here:



Ekholm remained in the game and the Oilers ended up winning 6-2, clinching their playoff spot at the same time.

Jared Bednar, the Avalanche's head coach, confirmed that evaluating Rantanen would take awhile.


His absence will be a tough pill to swallow for the Avs. While they added a lot of depth at the trade deadline, Rantanen is tough to replace. They sure hope that he can recover in time for the playoffs.

Source: Markerzone - Rantanen injured by dirty hit from Ekholm.