What is it about Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen that make it “easy” for Ross Colton to produce? The 28-year-old has eight points in eight games and has spent several of those on the top line with the elite forwards.

“It’s about just talking about things that happen on the ice — whoever comes, if it’s brand new guy on the line,” Rantanen said. “You want to communicate before the game and see where we want him to play and what kind of things we want him to do. It’s just about communicating — try to get on the same page because if you’re on the same page as a line, it usually goes a lot better.”