What is going on with Mikko Rantanen? Justus Annunen's brilliance & Rantanen's enigma

The Avalanche were undefeated against the Detroit Red Wings dating back to Nov. 19, 2017, but in their eleventh matchup, the Red Wings snapped their streak.

Rookie netminder 23-year old Justus Annunen put up a terrific fight in net, but the Avs lost the special teams battle and fell 2-1 in overtime.

Colorado’s case to improve their road record faltered and they now sit 13-13-5.

They may have gotten a point, but they didn’t see a close game through and their road record has become a hideous blight.

A Valiant Goalie Duel

One encouraging aspect of the contest was Justus Annunen’s performance in net. In just his fourth start this season, all of which have notably come on the road, Annunen stopped 28 of 30 chances.

Colorado controlled possession in all situations through three periods, but Detroit came out stronger in the second frame and led the shots battle inside the next two periods. Players like Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat all had close chances in regulation that forced him to make saves. Anunnen saw the puck whether at distance or in-close through a lot of bodies.

With seven seconds left in the third while down a skater on the penalty kill, Annunen pushed post-to-post to seal his net and memorably denied a J.T. Compher backhand.

Two snapshots from the slot got through Annunen in the end, but he made 13 of 15 high-danger saves otherwise. Alex Lyon had a strong night in net, so Annunen couldn’t afford to make mistakes and he met the occasion appropriately.

Chaos Reunion

After missing four games, Logan O’Connor returned to the lineup. His return reunited the highly effective chaos line made up of Ross Colton and Miles Wood.

Their efforts in the second period directly led to Colorado’s lone goal. Colton won a faceoff clean and his line controlled possession for the next minute and built valuable momentum to prepare the ice for the top line coming on the next change. O’Connor’s chance was blocked and the Avs lost possession but a quick breakout from Sam Girard allowed them to reset in transition.

Every pass connection stacked their chances and propelled their possession.

Their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. They might not get on the scoresheet, but they impact the game when they’re together.

Also, O’Connor definitely wasn’t holding Ben Chiarot. Chiarot was just falling. That was a bad call and O’Connor is innocent.

Paging Mikko Rantanen

Another complicated section for a complicated man. It’s hard to be critical of the talented winger on pace for 40 goals and 100 points, but he’s continued to invite scrutiny with his play as of late.

He’s not hurt, so it begs the question, what is going on with Mikko Rantanen?

He makes things complicated when he plays a pivotal role in the only goal that gets scored against Detroit.

Jack Johnson set Nathan MacKinnon up for the initial chance but it went wide. MacKinnon dropped the returning puck to Rantanen at the bottom of the left-circle.

MacKinnon torched Jeff Petry and drove to the net and Rantanen threaded the puck between Christian Fischer’s legs to MacKinnon alone at the crease. MacKinnon tapped it in short-side.

But through twenty minutes, Rantanen had a minor penalty and zero shot attempts. Meanwhile, MacKinnon had seven shots on net and Drouin had three attempts (and one shot on goal), so by that metric he wasn’t keeping up with his line.

In the same breath, his pass on the opening goal was all-world. Very few players could thread that puck and very few players are Mikko Rantanen.

He finished the night with two shots on net and four additional attempts, but with three powerplay opportunities, that should have been higher. Josh Manson created more than him.

Rantanen is a threat on the powerplay because of his diverse body of work. He can slam a one-timer from the right-circle, slip a puck back door, and find angles that seem impossible.

His play making is a strength too, but Rantanen deferred the puck too much instead of just taking the shot.

The powerplay has converted on just two opportunities through the last 29 chances.

Rantanen’s sleepy play correlates to their struggles on the man-advantage. He’s too important to this team. Especially a team down a vital powerplay guy and top-six winger in Val Nichushkin.

Byram’s Boost

If he’d finished on the breakaway in overtime, this shoutout would be even cooler. Regardless, Bowen Byram’s play continued to help the Avs especially in the face of another struggle-game from Cale Makar.

What I appreciated about Byram’s night is how reliable he was defensively alongside the will to create even if it didn’t translate in this instance.

Byram registered the best Corsi-for-percentage of any Avs skater at even strength (70.27). He tied Johnson for the fewest scoring-chances-allowed of any defenseman at even strength (five) which is impressive for a defenseman who had the third-highest ice time behind Makar and Devon Toews.

He recorded two shots on net, four additional attempts, two blocked shots, and a hit. It’s not a coincidence that his d-partner picked up his fourth point in three games.

That’s right, a Jack Johnson point-streak boys and girls. Byram’s rise has opened up Johnson’s game, and most importantly, it hasn’t come at the expense of their defensive play.