The right leg raised. All of Mikko Rantanen’s balance shifted to his left skate, the same side where the puck resided on his stick. He approached Winnipeg’s net in slow motion — painstakingly slow, like a cocky, yet cautious predator that knows its prey is cornered.

J.T. Compher streaked into the offensive zone to Rantanen’s right, turning the attack into a 2-on-1. Rantanen had options. “He’s got such a good release that he beats goalies from all around the ice,” said teammate Bo Byram, who watched the play unfold from behind. “He’s got three or four different releases that he uses.”

This type of release isn’t deceptive, though. When the right leg lifts itself off the ice, there’s no hiding Rantanen’s intent. His body is turned away from the open teammate, his weight and power surging entirely into one swift motion of the stick.

Byram readied himself to watch his teammate pounce. So did Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck, one of the best in the world.

He still couldn’t do anything about it.

That was Feb. 24, but it still resonates with Byram as his favorite goal from Rantanen’s pursuit of a historic milestone.

He’s three goals away from becoming the Avalanche’s first 50-goal scorer since Milan Hejduk, 20 years ago. The Moose would be only the fourth player to reach that benchmark since the franchise moved to Denver. Joe Sakic did it twice, with 51 in 1995-96 and 54 in 2000-01. Hejduk ended with exactly 50 on April 6, 2003.

Rantanen is a friendly locker-room presence with a good sense of humor, but he has been sheepish when discussing his goal pace all season. Asked about breaking Sakic’s franchise record as the fastest to 30 in a season in January, he replied, “I don’t know, (Sakic) still has two Cups.” When he reached 40 in late February, he only attributed “puck luck and good linemates.”

It’s almost as if Rantanen has grown comfortable playing third fiddle to fellow Avalanche stars Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon, content to deflect attention elsewhere as his biggest moment in the spotlight arrives.

But his race to 50 is hardly superficial. Already a three-time 30-goal scorer, he has been relied on more than at any other point in his first seven years in Colorado. On one of the NHL’s most injury-plagued teams, Rantanen has been the Avs’ rock.

“I think we had like nine guys up front that were (hurt). Everybody was crying about it, and Mikko was basically just scoring for us every night,” Makar said last week in Toronto. “So he’s carried us a lot this year. At that point in the season there was no doubt — I still think he should be up for probably the MVP. For our team at least, just the way he’s carried us.”

Every great goal-scorer has distinct flourishes or go-to spots on the ice. Rantanen, a left-handed wing who prefers to play on his off-hand side, is best known for his top-shelf snapshots from the right faceoff circle, or for hesitating an extra second when he gets the puck near that spot to identify a shooting lane for his wrister.

But everyone in the Avalanche locker room has their own opinion on the best brand of Rantanen goal. Some have specific favorites.

For Byram, the 2-on-1 snipe at Winnipeg stands out because of Rantanen’s use of shot placement. “He was at kind of a tough angle but roofed it far side against Hellebuyck,” Byram remembered. The young defenseman was the first to greet Rantanen against the boards, smiling in awe.