Colorado's offense getting back on track as Rantanen picks up steam

Maybe all that trade talk has given the Colorado Avalanche forwards a little more jump?

Whatever the inspiration, the struggling club has found some offensive life as of late, their past two games serving as their best offensive efforts in a long, long time.

After posting a surprising 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, Colorado opened their tilt with the Montreal Canadiens - leaders of the Atlantic Division - with two goals in the opening three minutes. The Avs added two more over the remaining two periods to finish with four total and a shutout victory.

Colorado's performance over the past two games represents a significant step forward for the club. Prior to their win over the Jets, the Avalanche had scored more than two goals in a game just twice in their past 20 games - once in December and once in January.

Mikko Rantanen - the youngest member of the Avalanche - kicked things off with a goal just 30 seconds into Colorado's tilt against the Canadiens, beating Carey Price with a deceptive point shot.

Rantanen added goals in each of the next two periods to earn his first career hat trick - just another fantastic sign for the young Finn, who's quickly becoming the team's most dangerous weapon.

The 20-year-old now has five goals in his past five games. With his hat trick in tow, Rantanen passed captain Gabriel Landeskog in the team goal-scoring race, having scored 11 in total. He now sits third in that race - just one goal back of Nathan MacKinnon, and in five fewer games.

It's been a rough season for the Avalanche's offense, but having their youngest stars becoming their most effective is undoubtedly a promising sign in terms of the club's future progress.

Don't count out the rest of the core just yet though.

Matt Duchene - who's seen his name embroiled in plenty of trade talks recently - tallied a team-leading three points in the Avalanche's win over Winnipeg, while MacKinnon and Landeskog combined for four points against the Canadiens.