The Avs got out to a 3-0 lead early on before Pittsburgh scored two straight goals to close the gap. But the Avs responded with three goals of their own to bury the Penguins in their blowout win.
This now marks Rantanen's 10th career hat trick, improving him to second in the league in goals (18) and his third hat trick in the last 30 games. The Avs improve to 17-13-0 on the year while the Penguins fall to 12-14-4. Pittsburgh now holds the league's worst -30 point differential.
Maple Leafs 2-1 Devils
The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New Jersey Devils in a tough-fought matchup that ended with an unassisted Auston Matthews (9) goal in overtime.
Toronto improves to 17-9-2 on the season as they are on the Florida Panthers' heel for the top spot in the Atlantic division. The Devils drop to 18-10-3 and remain second in the Metro division behind the Washington Capitals.
Jets 8-1 Bruins
The Winnipeg Jets wiped the floor with the Boston Bruins, ending their four-game winning streak with emphasis in a physically brutal matchup. There were a combined 85 hits in the matchup, 50 going to the Bruins alone.
Mark Scheifele (16) scored two goals for the Jets, lifting the team, to 21-9-0 on the season and taking back the Central division from the Minnesota Wild.
Around the league
The San Jose Sharks lost 3-2 after the Carolina Hurricanes Jalen Chatfield (3) and Brent Burns (2) scored two straight goals to seal the deal. San Jose have now lost three straight.
Philadelphia were led by Travis Konecny's (15) two goals and beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3. Columbus fall to last place in the Metro division.
The Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Islanders 3-1. Los Angeles are now 7-3 against the Isles over their last 10 matchups.
Calgary got the best of the Nashville Predators in a 4-3 battle with back-and-forth goals until Jonathan Huberdeau (10) scored the go-ahead in the second period to solidify the win.
The Edmonton Oilers extended their winning streak to three games after beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 2-1 nail-biter. Connor McDavid (14) and Leon Draisaitl (20) scored the two goals for Edmonton while Jake Guentzel (13) scored the lone goal for the Lightning.