What brings in Avalanche's leading product line thus good? Rate, toughness, hockey IQ ... and every thing else

Interesting article by Ryan O’Halloran from The Denver Post talking about some important points for the week. Ryan O’Halloran recently published the article and I decided it was a great post for sharing on this website.

The St. Louis Blues know what they’re facing when their first-round playoff series against the Avalanche begins Monday night.

They saw it in-person eight times during the regular season.

Gabe Landeskog at the half-wall. Down to Nathan MacKinnon below the goal-line. Back to Landeskog while Mikko Rantanen lurked on the opposite circle. Back to MacKinnon outside the blue paint. One move, two moves and — bam! — MacKinnon flipped a shot over Jordan Binnington.

That goal came in the Avalanche’s 3-2 win over the Blues on April 2, but a familiar script played out throughout the season.

Speed.

Strength.

Anticipation.

Hockey sense.

And usually goals.

The NHL’s top team is led by the league’s top line — MacKinnon at center, flanked by Landeskog (left wing) and Rantanen (right wing). The trio combined for 70 goals, 113 assists and a plus-66 rating.

To get into the mechanics of what makes the Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen line so lethal, we called two players-turned-analysts: Dominic Moore of NBC Sports, who played in 897 games (101 in the playoffs) and reached the third round of the playoffs four times, and Bret Hedican of NBC Sports Bay Area, who played in 1,039 games and played in three Cup finals (one win) among his 108 postseason games.

Both Moore and Hedican raved about the LMR Line’s versatility.

“They can beat you so many ways,” Moore said. “The thing I like about that line is they score off the rush, but they’re also one of the very best in the league in scoring off the cycle and to me, that’s how they’re going to do their damage in the playoffs. You’re not going to see as many of those rush opportunities in the playoffs because you’re playing against sound and disciplined defensive teams.”

While working a recent Avalanche-San Jose game, Hedican asked his producer to show a specific clip of the LMR Line at its collective best.

“It was a play along the right side where all three guys not only grabbed the puck, but kept their feet moving and they were working to get open for each other,” he said. “They’re all so smart and think the game at such a high level, they know when the pass needs to be delivered.”

What stands out about the LMR Line is, to Hedican’s point, they’re always probing the defense. Is Rantanen open in the high slot? Is Landeskog available for a top-of-the-crease tip-in? Does MacKinnon have enough space on the rush to get wide on a retreating defenseman?

“MacKinnon is one of the greatest skaters in the world right now and his ability to shoot the puck just backs teams and defensemen off and that gives guys like Rantanen and Landeskog more room to maneuver into the offensive zone and get open,” Hedican said. “All three add something. Landeskog knows he needs to get to the front of the net. Rantanen can work along the wall. And obviously MacKinnon is somebody who can get separation. That makes them one of the most dominant lines in the world.”

Does the LMR Line remind the former players of any past opponents or teammates? They sure do.

Moore played in Boston with the trio of Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak.

“(The Avs’ line) reminds me of those guys because they’re so strong independently on the puck, they can stay spaced out and that makes them all the more dangerous because you can create more opening,” Moore said.

Hedican mentioned two legends in his comparison.

“I think back to when (Jaromir) Jagr was in his prime with (Mario) Lemieux,” he said. “Jagr made it so difficult to play against because he was so strong in the corners protecting the puck. (The Avs’ line) can all find the open man while they’re defending the puck.”

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So how does St. Louis defend the LMR Line?

“That could be a Ryan O’Reilly job,” Hedican said.

If Avs coach Jared Bednar chooses, he can use the last-change-on-home-ice option to keep O’Reilly away from his big guns. Had the Avalanche played Minnesota, the Wild would have presented a better matchup in the heart-and-guts line of Jordan Greenway, Joel Erikkson-Ek and Marcus Foligno.

“I don’t see (the Blues’) third or fourth lines being able to stop them,” said Hedican, who added, “St. Louis came on at the end of the season, but I don’t see them beating Colorado.”