I’m not sure anyone could have written this game better if they had tried. There was a dramatic three-goal comeback, the stars shined, both goalies committed grand larceny, and Mikko Rantanen got a hat trick in his home country of Finland. And in the end, the Colorado Avalanche walked out of their first game at Nokia Arena in Tempere, Finland with a 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Recap
The Avalanche wasted no time getting used to playing on foreign ice. A minute and thirty-six seconds into the contest Logan O’Connor buried a beautiful pass from Alex Newhook over Elvis Merzlikins’ glove, putting the Avs up 1-0 early.