I’m starting to think that the Dallas Stars trading for Mikko Rantanen was a really good move.
One hundred days ago, on January 25, Rantanen was a member of the Colorado Avalanche — until he wasn’t. In a stunning move that almost nobody in the NHL saw coming, Rantanen — who had spent the entirety of his decade-long career in Denver — was shipped off to the Carolina Hurricanes. In return, the Avalanche received Jack Drury and Martin Necas.
Now, on Saturday, as a member of the Stars, Rantanen scored a hat trick in Game 7 of Dallas’ first-round series against the Avalanche to send the Stars to the second round.
Never in a million years did anyone expect this to happen 100 days ago—least of all Rantanen himself. The Finnish superstar had made it extremely clear over the last several months that he expected to spend the rest of his career in Denver, even with his contract set to expire at the end of the season. But circumstances changed, and Rantanen is now locked into an eight-year, $96 million deal with Dallas. As such, his three goals in the third period on Saturday night kept the Stars’ season alive.
Hollywood couldn’t have scripted it any better.
I have to admit, when Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon made it 2–0 early in the third period, I thought the Stars were cooked. Given how they had played up to that point, I wasn’t entirely off base. Colorado had controlled much of the game, and I would’ve been stunned if the Stars could mount a comeback strong enough to scale the Avalanche mountain. There was just no way, in my mind, that MacKinnon and Cale Makar were going to let up with 19 minutes left.
But they did.
It was a catastrophic collapse by the Avalanche, highlighted by Rantanen putting the Stars on his back against his former team.
With 12 minutes to go, Rantanen, who was double-shifting at the time and playing with Dallas' fourth line, skated into the offensive zone and used a (probably illegal) screen by Sam Steel to get open in the high slot. That’s a spot where a player as good as Rantanen rarely misses. He fired it past Mackenzie Blackwood, bar-down, to cut the Avalanche lead in half.
The tying goal came on a power play, when Rantanen decided to take on three Colorado players head-on. He bolted into the offensive zone, past Ryan Lindgren, Valeri Nichushkin, and Samuel Girard. After blowing by all of them, he wrapped around the net but couldn’t complete the wraparound himself. The puck fluttered off his stick, then off Girard’s skate, and into the net. Tie game.
It’s easy to chalk that goal up to bad luck for the Avalanche, but that bad luck doesn’t happen unless Rantanen puts in the effort to get there in the first place.
And the rest is history. A controversial penalty (which wasn’t all that controversial if you ask me — though Avalanche fans might kill me for saying that) set the Stars up with a power play late in the third. They capitalized, thanks to a beauty of a one-timer from Wyatt Johnston.
Now up 3–2, all Dallas had to do was hang on. Shot after shot came their way, but Jake Oettinger was up to the task, making stop after stop after stop. With every glove save in the final 90 seconds, the crowd at American Airlines Center roared. How the roof didn’t come off that building is beyond me, because man, that place was loud.
Rantanen’s hat trick was completed when Tyler Seguin cleared the zone, allowing him to skate down the ice unimpeded and bury the puck into the empty net. Three goals to seal the deal, and four points in a single period for the second consecutive game. Wow. He’s the first player in NHL history to accomplish that feat.
Even more impressive: through four games against Colorado, Rantanen had managed just one measly point — a secondary assist on Seguin’s OT-winner in Game 3. Flash forward to the end of the series, and he leads all players in playoff points with 12. How in the world? He’s just that special, folks.
It’s safe to say that without Rantanen, the Dallas Stars would likely be sitting on their couch next week instead of jumping on a plane to Winnipeg for the second round. Considering they were without Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson — two of their best players — it was a minor miracle the series even got to Game 7. To win it altogether is a blessing from on high.
Now it’s on to Manitoba for the Stars, where the Jets just beat the St. Louis Blues in their own Game 7 — a thrilling double-overtime classic. The Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy for the best record in the league and will be a formidable test for a banged-up Stars team that just came through a war. How will it turn out? As I often say when asked questions like that: I have no idea. What I do know, however, is that the Stanley Cup Playoffs are the best. And a Stars vs. Jets series is almost guaranteed to be some top-tier entertainment.
One final thought before I wrap up this euphoric reflection on the Stars’ 4–2 win in Game 7: Saturday night is why we do sports. The countless lows are only made worth it by the glorious highs that sometimes follow. There’s never a guarantee that glory will come — but it’s the hope that it might that keeps us going.
These small victories are what make hockey so incredible. Winning a Stanley Cup is unbelievably difficult, and advancing to the second round is an achievement in its own right. So, bask in it while you still can. You never know when the journey will end — whether in a sad handshake line or a champagne-filled locker room. The good deserves to be celebrated at all times, even if it’s just the first round.
That being said, buckle up, everybody, because this ride is just getting started. Bring on Winnipeg. Bring on Vegas. Bring on Edmonton. You know what? Bring everybody on.
It’s time to bring the Cup back to Dallas.
