RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Mikko Rantanen scored his first goal with Carolina, helping the Hurricanes beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday night. Seth Jarvis and Jaccob Slavin also scored for the Hurricanes, who won for the sixth time in seven games. Pyotr Kochetkov made 18 saves.

The Blackhawks could expedite their painstaking rebuilding process and be significant players in free agency this summer.

Team Finland announced their leadership group for the 4 Nations Face-Off today and both Carolina Hurricanes forwards Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen were named alternate captains. Finland will be captained by Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers and Mikael Granlund of the San Jose Sharks will also serve as an alternate captain.

Can we anticipate Mikko Rantanen lighting the lamp when the Carolina Hurricanes face off with the Chicago Blackhawks at 7:00 PM ET on Thursday? To help you with your bets, check out the numbers and insights below.

Speaking to The Athletic’s Peter Baugh on Monday, Rantanen shared his thoughts on the trade, his contract talks with the Avalanche and his new chapter in Carolina. Most interestingly, Rantanen confirmed that he was "ready to take a significant discount" to stay in Colorado, as initially reported by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

NHL general managers indicated that the Carolina Hurricanes' trade for Mikko Rantanen won't change their deadline approach.

The word “blockbuster” gets thrown around a little too often in today’s NHL, often for trades unworthy of the term, in the same way that anything might feel like a five-star meal to a starving man. But the deal that dropped on Friday night? That one deserves the title, no questions asked.

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

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Mikko Rantanen scored his first goal with Carolina, helping the Hurricanes beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday night. Seth Jarvis and Jaccob Slavin also scored for the Hurricanes, who won for the sixth time in seven games.

The Carolina Hurricanes traded away a fan favorite in Martin Necas but they got back what they hope is a difference maker in Mikko Rantanen. Rantanen comes to Raleigh

Though there's still season left to play, the Edmonton Oilers will likely face one of these four teams in the first round of the playoffs.