A year ago, Colorado Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen struggled in his first-ever NHL playoff appearance. He was so not-dominant that Avs insiders like Adrian Dater and Mike Chambers speculated he might be playing with an injury.
His subsequent appearance at — and dominance of — IIHF Worlds put paid to that. I’m not going to lie — I was annoyed. However, I just chalked it up to his version of a sophomore slump, which Rantanen most certainly did not suffer in the regular season last year.
Rantanen recorded four assists in six games in last year’s playoffs.