Mikko Rantanen leaves game wobbling, levelled by Mattias Ekholm hit

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Liam McCormick
April 5, 2024 (9:07 PM)

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Moments ago in tonight's marquee matchup between the Avalanche and Oilers, the physical play ramped up when Mattias Ekholm levelled Mikko Rantanen with a huge hit.

Rantanen got up seriously wobbling around, and left the game immediately with the assistance of the referee and the trainer. Right away, it was clear that Rantanen would not return to the game.

Ekholm was immediately chased down by Avalanche defender Jack Johnson to answer with a fight, but Ekholm denied, and rightly so. The hit was massive and blew up Rantanen, but Ekholm led with his shoulder and made no contact with the head. It was a clean hit, and Ekholm should be staying in the game to make this kind of impact on the ice, not out with a fighting major.

Hopefully Rantanen didn't sustain a serious injury on the play and is able to return to the lineup in the next two weeks before the playoffs. On the other hand, this is a fantastic display of physical play from Ekholm and the Oilers in a statement game against the highly-ranked Avalanche.

Later in the same period as well, Ekholm scored a huge goal to give the Oilers the lead. Keeping up this elite standard of play, Ekholm is proving why he'll be one of the most important players to the Oilers in the playoffs.