Rantanen’s replacement a mystery, Bednar says

It’s not that they can’t live without him — when the Avalanche shut Mikko Rantanen down late last winter for the final eight games of the regular season, a Rananten-free Colorado roster went 5-1-2 during a critical stretch run.

For coach Jared Bednar, the question right now isn’t so much how as it is who.

“Yeah, I haven’t made that decision,” the Avs coach said Wednesday when asked about potential top-line replacements for Rantanen, his No. 1 right winger whose status is “week to week” because of a gruesome lower-body injury suffered Monday at St. Louis.

“We’re contemplating a couple of different guys. … We may see some movement in that position, just to see who we like.”

Bednar said Rantanen isn’t playing Friday against Vegas, and he’ll be evaluated again early next week.

“We’ll see how he progresses in the new few days, (which) is the big thing,” the coach said of the 22-year-old winger, who’s tied for the team lead in points (12) with teammate and linemate Nathan MacKinnon. “I can tell you I don’t think it’s going to be four to six weeks (out). … We’re hoping he’s going to be back significantly sooner than that.”

Bednar’s update had Avs fans breathing a sigh of relief, given the presumed severity of the injury when it occurred.

Rantanen went down awkwardly during his first shift in the second period of a 3-1 loss to the Blues. The Finnish winger was trailing Blues defenseman Colton Parayko along the boards when his lower left leg appeared to give on — or get caught on — the ice, with his left foot nearly doing a 180-degree turn before twisting back into place. Rantanen immediately went down to his left knee and couldn’t continue.

“He’s one of the best players in the NHL,” MacKinnon said. “When you lose one of the best players in the NHL, it’s tough. We’re not going to replace him, but he got hurt last year and we found a way to get some wins. Hopefully, we can weather the storm until he gets back.”

Rantanen didn’t skate at Wednesday morning’s practice.

As for replacement options on the top line, Bednar said he was loathe to make major changes given the Avs’ 7-1-1 start, but that new wingers Andre Burakovsky and Joonas Donskoi, who’ve accounted for eight points and six points, respectively, on the second line, remain possibilities to pair with MacKinnon and left winger Gabe Landeskog. Moving up winger J.T. Compher (four points) could be another short-term option, the coach noted, that would leave the No. 2 line intact.

“Mikko is a freak,” MacKinnon said. “He’ll be back, I’m sure, sooner than later. … We need guys to step up. Including myself.”

Footnotes. Bednar is considering splitting up the No. 2 defensive pairing of Cale Makar and Nikita Zadarov. … The Avs also practiced Wednesday without wingers Compher and PierreEdouard Bellemare and defenseman Ian Cole. The coach said the trio were taking “maintenance days.”