It feels like the Colorado Avalanche are slowly but surely getting their groove back, as we head into the fifth game in December on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Through 29 games, the Avalanche are 16-13, rank fourth in the Central Division with 32 points, and are looking to get their third win in a row.
The player who currently leads the team in points is nicknamed “The Moose.” Mikko Rantanen has played in every game so far this season.
Although I’ve noticed some mishandling of the puck, as Kyle Sullivan of Locked On Avalanche told me, we just have to let Mikko be Mikko. Obviously, it isn’t ideal for a team to give the puck away to the other team, but it’s going to happen. Oftentimes, the turnover will result in a shot on goal going the other way. They just need to do their best to not allow the turnover to become a score. That’s a team effort.
Rantanen leads the Colorado Avalanche in goals, with 15. I put him as the team’s MVP over Nathan MacKinnon right now based off of this. In all likelihood, MacKinnon will end up with more goals than Rantanen by the end of the season, but right now, that’s simply not the case. Both have played in all 29 games for the Avalanche this season, and the difference in goals is six. That’s pretty interesting to me.
Obviously, however you find ways to win, you need to keep that up. If it requires guys other than MacKinnon and Makar to get in on the scoring, that’s what they need to do. The Avalanche cannot just be carried by two or three players. We’ve seen that.
The Avalanche also are in the top-10 (sixth) in power play efficiency at 26.1 percent. Rantanen leads the team in power play goals with five. He was also credited with four game-winning goals, which leads the team as well.
Without Rantanen, the Colorado Avalanche would probably be in a bigger hole than they’ve ever found themselves at any point this season. They’re sitting in fourth place in the Central Division, and to climb the rankings in their division, they need to lean on The Moose.