Mikko Rantanen records sixth career NHL hat trick

Colorado Avalanche right winger Mikko Rantanen of Nousiainen, Finland recorded his sixth career National Hockey League hat trick on Thursday. He accomplished the feat in a 6-2 Avalanche win over the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

How and When Rantanen scored three times

Rantanen tied the game at one goal apiece at 16:45 of the first period from Nathan MacKinnon of Halifax, Nova Scotia and Samuel Girard of Roberval, Quebec. He then put the Avalanche up 2-1 at 2:32 of the second period from Evan Rodrigues of Toronto, Ontario and MacKinnon. Rantanen’s hat trick came at 8:06 of the second period from Devon Toews of Abbotsford, British Columbia and MacKinnon to put the Avalanche up 4-1.

The hat trick for Rantanen was part of a four-point game. He also added an assist on the game-winning goal scored by MacKinnon at 7:19 of the second period.

Notable first goal

Rantanen’s first goal was his 50th goal of the season. He became the fourth player this season to score 50 goals. He joins Edmonton Oilers center and captain Connor McDavid of Richmond Hill, Ontario (62 goals), Boston Bruins right winger David Pastrnak of Havirov, Czechia (57 goals), and Oilers center Leon Draisaitl of Cologne, Germany (51 goals).

Rantanen also became the fifth player in Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques franchise history to score 50 goals in a season. He follows Jacques Richard of Quebec City, Quebec (52 goals in 1980-81 with the Nordiques), Michel Goulet of Peribonka, Quebec (57 goals in 1982-83, 56 goals in 1983-84, 55 goals in 1984-85, and 53 goals in 1985-86 with the Nordiques), Joe Sakic of Burnaby, British Columbia (51 goals in 1995-96, and 54 goals in 2000-01 with the Avalanche), and Milan Hejduk of Usti nad Labem, Czechia (50 goals in 2002-03 with the Avalanche).

2022-23 Stats

In 2022-23, Rantanen has 52 goals and 46 assists for 98 points in 77 games. He is a +17 with 68 penalty minutes, 33 power-play points, nine game-winning goals, 293 shots on goal, 199 faceoff wins, 39 blocked shots, 77 hits, 57 takeaways, and 39 giveaways. Rantanen also leads the NHL with 41 even strength goals.

Rantanen’s five previous hat tricks

This was Rantanen’s third hat trick this season. He previously scored thrice in a 6-3 Avalanche win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 4, 2022, and in a 3-2 Avalanche win over the St. Louis Blues on December 11, 2022. Rantanen’s prior hat tricks came in a 4-0 Avalanche win over the Montreal Canadiens on February 7, 2017, in a 5-2 Avalanche win over the New Jersey Devils on January 4, 2020, and in a 6-2 Avalanche win over the Nashville Predators on November 27, 2021.

First Place Tie in the Central Division

With the win, the Avalanche reached the century mark in points with 100. They have a record of 47 wins, 24 regulation losses and six losses in extra time. Colorado is tied for first in the Central Division with the Dallas Stars.