Avs’ Mikko Rantanen fiercely HITS BACK at Arturri Lehkonen’s father following his recent criticism

Mikko Rantanen has clapped back at the criticism from his teammate Arturri Lehkonen's father following his team's 6-5 victory.

Avs’ Mikko Rantanen fiercely HITS BACK at Arturri Lehkonen’s father following his recent criticism

Mikko Rantanen (L) and Arturri Lehkenon (R) [Pic Credit: AP]

In the realm of sports, many players are seen to struggle after making an impressive start to the season. This was seen with Mikko Rantanen who after making a fierce start had slowed down in the previous games. However, he seems to be getting back to form and bounced back with an emphatic performance against the Calgary Flames. In the post-match conference though, he hit back at his teammate Arturri Lehkonen‘s father.

The Colorado Avalanche star recently found his name under the analytic scan of Lehkonen’s father. The Finnish international’s dad, Ismo Lehkonen is reported to work as a hockey analyst in Finland. Though he never mentioned the name of any person, it was clear that he was hitting back at Senior Lekhonen.

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The Finnish international’s father claimed that Rantanen had not been working hard in the summer and did not train like he usually does. Inspired by these words, Rantanen collected three points in a 6-5 thrilling victory over the Flames. In the post-match conference, he expressed his thoughts regarding the recent criticism of him.

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It feels good. And there’s actually one thing where I got a lot of extra energy. One of our Finnish NHL player’s dad’s was was talking sh– about me in the media, that I didn’t train last summer like I used to do... I think that [performance] was for him. If you talk sh– it’s going to come back at you.
Mikko Rantanen on Ismo Lehkenon’s criticism on him via Sports Illustrated.

How is Mikko Rantanen doing in the 2023-24 season?

The recent words from Arturri Lehkenon’s father Ismo Lehkenon on Mikko Rantanen came as a surprise to many. The forward who had started off strong soon found himself struggling to score goals. Perhaps he needed some kind of motivation to shake off these poor performances. This criticism of him seemed to have done the trick as the Avs’ star bounced back with one goal and two assists against the Flames.

Despite suffering a slight bump in his form, Rantanen has been one of the top forwards for the Avalanche. He along with Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar have been terrorizing the opposition defences with their performances. His three-point performance recently saw him notch 34 points for the season with 13 goals and 21 assists in 28 games this season.

Mikko Rantanen and Yegor Sharangovich
A snap of Mikko Rantanen with Yegor Sharangovich during the Avalanche-Flames game (Image via San Diego Union-Tribune)

He had a great season last time out and collected his career-high 105 points with 55 goals and 50 assists. Despite the latest skid in form, he now seems to have found his groove again as he sits third in the goal-scoring list for the team behind McKinnon and Maker.

The victory over the Flames saw the Avs climb to the top of the Central Division. Several sets of eyes will now be on Rantanen following his words and this strong performance. He will look to extend his points tally in his team’s next encounter which is against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night.

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