MacKinnon, Rantanen make the difference as Avalanche edge Leafs in shootout

On their ascent to hockey’s pinnacle last season, the Colorado Avalanche broke their opponents’ will by playing at an unmatched, hyperspeed pace. The defending champions often create the optical illusion of making their adversaries appear like they’re playing in quicksand.

The Avalanche did just that to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ usually-potent offensive attack on Wednesday, as Colorado came away with a 2-1 shootout win at Scotiabank Arena.

Mainly because of Colorado's team-wide skating ability and a stingy effort in the defensive end, the Maple Leafs were unable to generate any real meaningful offense — with Auston Matthews and a stellar performance from Morgan Rielly as the obvious exceptions. Toronto registered just 19 shots throughout the contest, the fewest it has recorded all season.

“I thought the mobility of their defence was a real problem for us tonight, in terms of getting through the neutral zone and getting on the attack,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said post-game.

Through their four-game home stretch, the Maple Leafs are running the gauntlet of the NHL’s best transition offenses. They’re rarely outmatched in the skill department but as the adage goes, speed kills, and the Avalanche flushed out the imminent danger in this one.

“It’s just commitment and hard work and just paying attention to the details,” Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said post-game. “When we play with that type of commitment and dedication to the checking side of things, we’re pretty good at it. You look at our lineup and we had a little bit of a shaky start where we’re given up some good scoring chances in the first period and then we tightened it up after that and the game became much more balanced.

Rielly got the Maple Leafs on the board, before Mikko Rantanen — who was Colorado’s best player on Wednesday — banked a shot off Jake McCabe’s stick for the equalizer. Ilya Samsonov was excellent for the Maple Leafs, but shootouts are cruel, and he was bested by the Avalanche’s Alexandar Georgiev.

Here’s what you need to know from Wednesday’s Maple Leafs-Avalanche game:

Three stars

1. Mikko Rantanen, Avalanche

There was so much firepower on the ice and Rantanen shone brightest. He registered five shots, 11 individual chances, won 58 percent of his faceoffs and scored the game-tying goal. Rantanen constantly used his massive frame and outstanding speed to keep the Maple Leafs on their heels.

He also played over 25 minutes and was the anchor of his line with Nathan MacKinnon and Evan Rodrigues. Playing against quality competition, Rantanen constantly found a way to make an impact, earning first star honours.

2. Morgan Rielly, Maple Leafs

This was Rielly’s best performance in recent memory. He ringed a shot off the crossbar in the opening minute of the game, then opened the scoring shortly thereafter, taking his time to pick the corner after receiving a beautiful cross-ice feed from Mitch Marner. Rielly made smart decisions in his own end and he wasn’t burned by the Avalanche’s speed, suppressing two high-danger chances from Logan O’Connor.

Rielly has struggled for most of the year, but this type of game should inspire confidence.

“That’s what we need to see from Morgan. A guy who can jump into those holes and get the puck and be a threat offensively. He played hard and defended well, as well.” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said post-game.