Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen took a hard hit against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night.
And now there’s good news and bad news about his condition looking ahead.
First, Rantanen was spotted at Avalanche practice on Monday. This is encouraging after he sat out Sunday night’s loss to the Dallas Stars in concussion protocol. Several local reporters captured video of Rantanen on the ice at Ball Arena and he looked pretty good overall.
The Avalanche then had an optional skate and Rantanen stuck around and worked with the team, which is another positive development.
However, after practice head coach Jared Bednar already ruled out Rantanen for Tuesday night’s game against the Wild. Forward Miles Wood will miss the game against Minnesota as well, as the Avs play it safe with just four games left in the regular season.
Currently, Colorado sits at 102 points, good for second in the Central Division. The 7-4 loss to the Stars on Sunday all but assured they won’t win the division, but now the task becomes holding off Winnipeg.
The Jets have 100 points, and will likely be the Avalanche’s opponent in Round 1 of the NHL playoffs. Whether the series begins in Denver or Winnipeg remains to be seen, and the two have a showdown on Saturday that could decide it.
Hopefully Mikko Rantanen is back by then, but for now, this is a positive news overall. The concussion is there, but it doesn’t appear like it will keep him out for an extended period of time.
