New York Islanders ride three-game winning streak into Saturday night matchup versus Mikko Rantanen and the Carolina Hurricanes

Mikko Rantanen says he was willing to take a discount to stay with the Avalanche before the Hurricanes trade happened.

In an interview, Mikko Rantanen revealed his reaction a day after the Colorado Avalanche traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes. On Friday, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Colorado Avalanche surprised the whole National Hockey League when they agreed on the terms of a trade involving the Finnish superstar Mikko Rantanen.

That was the only thing that felt familiar Monday morning at the New York Islanders‘ arena. RELATED: Avs trade Mikko Rantanen: How national media graded the move Rantanen was dressed all in red.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall each made his debut for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Saturday.

For one, Brind’Amour is pairing his two best players by putting them on a line together. Aho has led the Hurricanes in scoring in six of the last seven seasons, and Rantanen was a superstar in Colorado, logging more minutes than any forward in the league since the start of the 2021-22 season.

New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal (13 ... Images Fewer than 24 hours after learning they were changing teams, Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall looked every bit the part of Carolina Hurricanes.

As much as the Colorado Avalanche would've liked to cap off this whirlwind of a road trip on a positive note, they failed to do so. The team, which looks a little different having replaced Mikko Rantanen with Martin Necas and Jack Drury,

It’s become a pattern now — the Colorado Avalanche look like the better team for the better part of the first 40 minutes and then the final period is a problem.

Brock Nelson scored 2:03 into overtime and the New York Islanders rallied to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Saturday night.

With Rantanen now in Carolina, LeBrun noted the Hurricanes have the "key" advantage of offering an eight-year extension instead of just a seven-year deal, although he also noted that Rantanen will most probably demand $14-plus million.