Rantanen's Hat Trick Leads Avalanche to Victory

Avalanche Defeat Kings 4-2

Mikko Rantanen's ninth career hat trick powered the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

Rantanen opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period. He added two more goals in the second period, giving the Avalanche a 3-1 lead. Nathan MacKinnon added an empty-net goal in the final minute to seal the win.

Kings forward Adrian Kempe and defenseman Matt Roy scored goals for Los Angeles, but it wasn't enough to overcome Rantanen's offensive outburst.

The Avalanche have now won three straight games and are 5-2-1 in their last eight games. The Kings have lost two straight and are 4-3-1 in their last eight games.

Rantanen's hat trick was his first of the season and the ninth of his career. He now has 20 goals in 29 games this season, which is tied for the second-most in the NHL.

Rantanen's first goal came on a power play in the first period. He took a pass from MacKinnon and fired a wrist shot past Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick.

Rantanen's second goal came in the second period. He skated around Kings defenseman Drew Doughty and backhanded a shot past Quick.

Rantanen's third goal came later in the second period. He took a pass from Makar and fired a one-timer past Quick.

The Avalanche's victory was their third straight and fifth in their last eight games. They are now 15-10-2 on the season and are in second place in the Central Division.

The Avalanche were led by Rantanen's hat trick, but they also got a strong performance from goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. Georgiev made 27 saves on 29 shots.

The Avalanche will be back in action on Thursday night when they host the Edmonton Oilers.

The Kings' loss was their second straight and fourth in their last eight games. They are now 11-12-4 on the season and are in fifth place in the Pacific Division.

The Kings were led by Kempe and Roy, but they were unable to overcome Rantanen's hat trick.

The Kings will be back in action on Wednesday night when they host the Seattle Kraken.