Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen placed in concussion protocol, out day-to-day

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar announced that forward Mikko Rantanen has been placed in concussion protocol and will be out day-to-day. He has been skating on his own and will not be out of the lineup for long.

Rantanen sustained an upper-body injury during the Avalanche’s 6-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on April 5. Rantanen will not play tonight versus the Dallas Stars but could be available as early as Tuesday for the game against the Minnesota Wild. If not, he’ll almost certainly be back in time for the Avs’ matchup against the Winnipeg Jets this Saturday.

There’s no reason for the Avalanche to rush their star forward back into the lineup as they’ve already clinched the playoffs with 102 points in the standings at the 77-game mark. The only thing left to decide is playoff seeding, with the Jets right behind them at 100 points and the Stars ahead of them at 105. The Avalanche will be facing off against both of those teams in the remaining portion of the regular season but playoff seeding is not more important than the health of one of their best players.

This season, Rantanen has scored 40 goals and 102 points and has become one of the most dependable players on the Avalanche. He sits just three points away from his career-high he set last year in points with 105. Depending on how many games he plays between now and the end of the regular season, he could end up eclipsing that number this year.

Rantanen is tied for sixth place in the NHL scoring race with Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers. The Avalanche winger has been one of the very best players in the NHL over the last few seasons but has been somewhat overshadowed by Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.