Rantanen out multiple weeks with reported shoulder injury

Colorado Avalanche star forward Mikko Rantanen suffered an upper-body injury in a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night and will be out of the lineup for weeks, the Avalanche confirmed postgame.

It's an apparent shoulder injury, reports Mike Chambers of the Denver Post.

Rantanen was hurt when Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak tripped him on a scoring chance, causing him to crash into the boards midway through the second period. Cernak was assessed a minor penalty for tripping on the play.

The 23-year-old Rantanen left the game favoring his left shoulder and didn't return.

He notched an assist earlier in the contest, giving him 41 points in 42 games this season.

The Avalanche were already dealing with an injury to starting goaltender Philipp Grubauer, while Colorado forwards Nazem Kadri, Matt Calvert, and Colin Wilson are all out with various ailments of their own.