Rantanen as Scoring leader
Mikko Rantanen is no longer the scoring leader. When your team is in a slump, such titles are often the first to go.
However, our Finnish Sniper started out hot. He earned points in the first nine games straight. He quickly took over as the assists leader. And as they piled up, Rantanen took over the scoring leader title.
Rantanen recorded 21 points (5 goals, 1 assists) in October. Those were league-leading stats and earned him First Star honors in the entire NHL for the month of October.
Let’s look at those five goals. Here’s his first of the season, conveniently in the first game of the season, against the (hated) Minnesota Wild:
Here he puts the nail in the coffin against the New Jersey Devils with an empty-net goal:
Mikko got two goals against the Philadelphia Flyers, which extended his points streak to nine games. The first goal was a power play tally which started off the scoring:
He also finished off the scoring, recording the Avalanche’s fourth goal of the game late in the third. It was another empty-netter:
For the final goal of October, Rantanen scored a power play goal against the Ottawa Senators:
Even though Rantanen is no longer the scoring leader (he is number two), his dominance did earn him his first-ever spot at the NHL All Star Weekend.