Avalanche's Rantanen out 'weeks' with upper-body injury

Colorado Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen is expected to be sidelined "weeks" with an upper-body injury, coach Jared Bednar said. Rantanen was tripped by Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak and crashed into the boards behind the net during the second period of Colorado's 4-3 overtime loss on Monday night. Rantanen was holding his left shoulder upon getting to his feet and retreated straight to the locker room.

The 23-year-old Rantanen has collected 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists) in 42 games this season. He has missed 16 contests this season with an ankle injury. Rantanen, who signed a six-year, $55.5 million contracts this past summer, set career highs in goals (31), assists (56) and points (87) last season.

Rantanen was a standout in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring, scoring six goals and adding eight assists in 12 games. He scored the winning goals in Games 4 and 5 in a first-round Western Conference playoff series against the Calgary Flames. A first-round pick (No. 10 overall) of the Avalanche in the 2015 NHL Draft, Rantanen has recorded 250 points (99 goals, 151 assists) in 281 career games.