Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen placed on COVID-19 protocol list

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 4/20/21

The Colorado Avalanche had three straight games postponed on Friday due to COVID-19 issues and already had goaltender Philipp Grubauer and winger Joonas Donskoi on the coronavirus-related protocol list as of Tuesday morning.

The Athletic and others reported on Tuesday afternoon that winger Mikko Rantanen is now the third Colorado player on the COVID-19 list. Peter Baugh of The Athletic tweeted that Rantanen tested positive for the virus:

The Avalanche will go through their daily COVID-19 testing tomorrow morning, and the league will decide if their will be any schedule adjustments after the results come back, per a team spokesperson. Mikko Rantanen's positive test today was the team's first since Friday.
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) April 20, 2021

According to ESPN stats, Rantanen is second in the NHL this season with 26 goals and tied for eighth with 52 points.

The Avalanche currently remain scheduled to resume play on Thursday at the St. Louis Blues but could have their return pushed back depending on the results of additional coronavirus testing leading up to that game. Colorado began Tuesday evening second in the NHL West standings with 64 points, two points behind the Vegas Golden Knights and five ahead of the Minnesota Wild. The top four teams from each division make the playoffs.

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