Colorado Avalanche: 3 Keys to Their Building Momentum

Calling them the best in the League doesn’t say enough.

This is the best line combination that I have seen in Colorado and it’s least heralded player is the driver of the whole thing.

The 10th pick in the 2015 NHL draft, Mikko Rantanen has quicky developed into a spectacular player for the Colorado Avalanche.  True to Rantanen’s humble personality, it feels like too much, to load superlatives onto the young man from Finland.  Then we remember that he leads the NHL in scoring.

The whole NHL.  Rantanen is like a gift we feel guilty taking after Landy and MacKinnon but before we get too gushy, let’s remember that the 2016 Avalanche were called the worst team in NHL history.  We deserve some consideration for that.

There’s a fairly deep history of picks never materializing, so the addition of Rantanen to the established greatness of Landeskog and MacKinnon was never a sure thing.

So again, with due respect to Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg and Claude Lemieux, this group for the Avalanche is the best I’ve seen.

Depth is important and the Avalanche lines are stepping up as the season goes on.  Chemistry is key as the team bonds toward the common goal but the thing that can really put a team over the top is a line that’s a threat to score often in a game.  This Colorado top line seems a threat to score every time they are on the ice.

That’s something that can move them from a strong playoff team to a contender.  There’s a way to go but the farther we get into this season, the less that seems like fantasy.