Avs will play two games in Rantanen’s home country of Finland next year

Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen will get to show his teammates around his native country of Finland next year.

The NHL announced Thursday morning Colorado will participate in the league’s Global Series in November of 2022, playing two games against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Tampere, Finland.

The contests are set for Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5 at Nokia Arena. Both games will count in the regular season standings.

See ya in November!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/dtCiaGFY1O

— z – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 21, 2022

It’ll be the second time the Avalanche have played in Europe the last five years. The Avs squared off with Ottawa for two regular season games in Stockholm, Sweden in November of 2017. Colorado lost both those by final scores of 4-3, with one going to overtime.

In addition to Rantanen, the newly acquired Artturi Lehkonen also calls Finland home.

The Avalanche certainly hope to be defending Stanley Cup champions by the time these two games roll around next season. Colorado has already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and has a ridiculous 116 points with five games to go. They are in a battle with Florida for the President’s Trophy, as the Panthers also have 116 points, but six games remaining.

Rantanen leads the Avs so far this season with 36 goals and 91 points. Colorado is back in action on Canadian soil in Edmonton on Friday night.

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