CHN Staff
By Lars Mahrendorf, Tampere, Finland – After blowing a 3-0 lead again, the Avalanche needed a Mikko Rantanen hat trick to win 6-3 in the first game of the Global Series against the Blue Jackets in Tampere. Here are the quotes, notes and photos from here on the scene:
Cale Makar talked to the media first about Rantanen being the hero and the crowd feeding out of that. “He deserves it. Obviously Mikko is a good playmaker and goalscorer. It was awesome to see him get that. Guys were just very happy for him. It’s cool to see the kind of the character and the energy that this town and this whole country bring to hockey. I love it here, it’s super. Going from New York to this is was a little bit of a culture shock, that’s for sure,” Makar said.
“I loved the Mikko Rantanen chants,” said Jared Bednar. “Cause that means he’s doing something good. Our guys started chuckling on the bench, and I’m sure Mikko was pretty happy about it.”
Regarding the play in the game, Bednar had more of a mixed view.
“I liked our effort tonight. I liked some of the things we did. Still wasn’t a full 60 for us. First period was a real good period from our guys. Makin’ sure we weren’t giving up a lot scoring chances against,” Bednar said. “Second period, I thought they outplayed us both on special teams and on five-on-five. And then in the third period we kind of stepped up and elevated. I thought our special teams did a really nice job.”
Then Mikko Rantanen stepped on the podium alongside Nathan MacKinnon. Asked about his emotions during the chants for him, he answered: ”Yeah, it was really cool. I didn’t really expect it. I thought the crowd was really good all game. I was happy there and surprised, and it gave me a little chill. I think my teammates and linemates were helping me. You can’t play there alone.”
“I could imagine myself being in my hometown and hearing chants. We’re pretty far from Denver, and it’s really cool to be a part that,” was MacKinnon’s take on Rantanen’s performance and the fans “It just really shows how much they support our team. All the kids know us. When you see the happy kids and happy people, it makes it well worth it, for sure.”
Regarding the second game in row in which Colorado let a three-goal-lead slip away, Nate was not too worried.
“There’s no panic. We’ve been one of the best teams for three or four seasons. Just unfortunate two games. A couple bounces. We have so many chances to go 4-0 and all of a sudden it’s 3-2. Just the turnovers for us. A lot of turnovers the last couple of games that we know we can clean up, and we’ll be Ok,” he said.
Notes:
Some photos I shot on the day:
Lars Mahrendorf is a freelance sports journalist based in Germany. Follow him @lars_mah