Ex-Colorado Avalanche player involved in scary incident during Oilers-Stars game

Ex-Colorado Avalanche Mikko Rantanen was involved in a scary incident, leaving Edmonton Oilers starting goaltender Stuart Skinner on the shelf for an indefinite period.

The incident took place during the Edmonton Oilers-Dallas Stars game late Thursday night. In the third period, with the Stars leading 4-0, Rantanen made contact with Skinner, whipping the netminder’s head back awkwardly.

Here’s a look at the play:

The TNT broadcasters called the play “incidental contact” as Rantanen skated by the crease, chasing a shot that had gone high over the net.

While I’m not suggesting that Rantanen purposely intended to hit Skinner, I can’t help but wonder if Rantanen wasn’t a little too careless on the play.

Now, it must be said that Rantanen does not have a reputation for being a dirty player. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I also understand that these plays happen so fast that it’s impossible to react quickly enough to everything happening on the ice.

But then again, I wonder, could the contact have been avoided? Could Rantanen have done more to avoid hitting Skinner?

Judging from Rantanen’s reaction, he didn’t seem particularly remorseful, but he wasn’t nonchalant about it, either.

In my estimation, we’ll have to chalk this play up to those unfortunate incidents that happen in sports. No matter how careful athletes try to be, Murphy’s Law always finds a way to throw a monkey wrench into the works at the worst possible time.

Avalanche-Stars series could lead to serious bad blood

Thursday night’s incident involving Mikko Rantanen and Stuart Skinner immediately raised a concern in my mind. If the potential Avalanche-Stars first-round series becomes overly physical, there could be some serious bad blood between the two clubs.

If anything, such a series conjures up thoughts of the old Avalanche-Red Wings rivalry back in the day. Those games were filled with as much bad blood as you can imagine. There was a genuine dislike among both teams.

So, if things really get physical between the Avalanche and Stars, could there be another Red Wings-type rivalry in the making? The Rantanen subplot certainly adds fuel to the fire. The entire controversy surrounding the star wingers trade certainly makes the entire situation seem like it came from a Seinfeld episode.

My concern is that the Avs don’t have an overly physical lineup. The Avs lack what you would call “physical” players. That is why someone like Keaton Middleton could play a key role in this series. The game goes for Erik Johnson.

The Avs will need to take some boxing lessons leading up to the first round of the NHL playoffs. There will be plenty of punches thrown around before the series is done. Heck, why not take some wrestling lessons, too?