Rantanen's hat trick lifts Avalanche past Canadiens
DENVER -- Mikko Rantanen recorded the first hat trick of his career, Calvin Pickard made 27 saves for his second shutout of the season and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on Tuesday night.
Andres Martinsen also scored and Mark Barberio had two assists against his former team. Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog added two assists apiece for the Avalanche (15-33-2), who won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 19-21 and won two straight at home for the first time all season.
They also avenged a 10-1 loss in Montreal on Dec. 10.
Rantanen, a 20-year-old rookie who played nine games with Colorado last season, has 11 goals. He scored his third of the night on a 5-on-3 power play at 6:01 of the third.
It was the first hat trick for the Avalanche this season.
Carey Price recorded 22 saves for the Canadiens (30-17-8), who lost their four straight -- including a shootout loss against Edmonton on Sunday. First-place Montreal is still eight points ahead of Ottawa and Toronto in the Atlantic Division.
Colorado, which stopped a nine-game losing streak with a victory over Winnipeg on Saturday, scored twice in the first 2:25 on Tuesday and were in control all game.
Rantanen, the 10th overall pick in the 2015 draft, is one of two players Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said will not consider dealing before the March 1 trade deadline.
Rantanen got things started with a goal at 30 seconds to give Colorado the early lead. It was the fastest goal to start a period this season by the Avalanche.
Martinsen made it 2-0 with his third goal at 2:25 of the first.
Montreal outshot Colorado 12-7 in the first period and 19-13 well into the second period but went down 3-0 on Rantanen's second goal and 10th of the season. His redirection in the slot of Barberio's shot from the point got past Price at 13:10.
It's the first multi-goal game of Rantanen's short career.
NOTES: Avalanche D Tyson Barrie and F Rene Bourque were out again with lower-body injuries. Barrie returned for a game after missing four but is out again. Bourque missed five of the last seven games. ... Canadiens RW Brendan Gallagher missed his 16th straight game with a hand injury. He is close to returning but won't play when Montreal visits Arizona on Thursday night. ... Colorado D Fedor Tyutin was back in the lineup after missing three games with a hip injury. Eric Gelinas was scratched. ... Montreal D Nathan Beaulieu played his 200th career game. ... Jacob De La Rose and Greg Pateryn were healthy scratches for the Canadiens.