Mikko Rantanen and the power of star players

It feels like everything about the playoffs these days is — and should be — focused on Mikko Rantanen.

The list of stats people are publishing about this guy the last few days feels impossible. No one could have points on all of his team's last 12 goals. No one could have two playoff hat tricks in a row. No one could have 14 points in his last four periods. No one could score six goals in 15 minutes of ice time. These are the kinds of things they say about Wayne Gretzky and you have to adjust for "yeah but half the teams that made the playoffs were sub-.500 back then." 

Modern hockey shouldn't work like this. For almost everybody, it doesn't.

But this run of performance should make you think back to January, when Rantanen was traded to Carolina. The big, ambient question at that time was exac