Avalanche’s Mikko Rantanen week-to-week with lower-body injury

Mikko Rantanen would head to the locker room after appearing to twist his ankle on the ice.

Colorado Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, head coach Jared Bednar announced Wednesday.

“I should know more early next week,” Bednar said.

Rantanen was injured in Monday’s game against the St. Louis Blues. Early in the second period, while chasing the Blues’ Colton Parayko, Rantanen twisted his leg and fell to the ice. He was able to skate off the ice on his own but did not return.

The injury leaves a hole on the right wing of the Avalanche’s top line. Through nine games this season, the soon-to-be 23-year-old is tied with Nathan MacKinnon for the team lead with 12 points.

“He is one of the best players in the NHL. When you lose one of the best players in the NHL its tough,” MacKinnon said of Rantanen, via NHL.com. “We’re not going to replace him, but he got hurt last year and we found a way to get some wins. Hopefully we can weather the storm until he gets back. Mikko is a freak, he will be back I’m sure sooner than later and like I said we need guys to step up, including myself.”

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.