Mikko Rantanen set two NHL records on Wednesday night, as his natural hat trick made the difference in the Dallas Stars’ 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1.
The Stars’ winger scored three goals in a span of 7 minutes and 55 seconds in the second period. This was his second consecutive game with a hat-trick, having scored three goals in the third period of the Stars’ Game 7 victory over the Colorado Avalanche last Saturday.
Sometimes there are ups and downs in hockey. Now, things are going well individually and as a team.
Rantanen
Rantanen leads the playoffs in goals (8) and points (15). He becomes the first player in Stanley Cup playoffs history with multiple three-goal periods in the same postseason. He is only the fourth player in NHL history to achieve this feat, joining Wayne Gretzky, Maurice Richard, and Tim Kerr.
Rantanen also set an NHL postseason record for having a goal or an assist in 12 consecutive goals by his team. That streak began with an assist on Roope Hintz’s goal in Game 5 against the Avalanche. Rantanen had a goal and three assists in Game 6 against Colorado, and then three goals and an assist in Game 7.
Rantanen broke a record previously set by Mario Lemieux in 1992.
Let’s see how long he can keep this up. He’s on a roll. He’s feeling it.
Pete DeBoer, Dallas coach
Winnipeg led 1-0 in the second period when Evgenii Dadonov fired a shot directly at Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck. The puck went through Hellebuyck and lay in the Jets’ crease, where Rantanen dove with his stick as he fell to push it into the net, tying the game 1-1 at 8:43.
Almost six minutes later, Rantanen scored again, deflecting a shot from Thomas Harley over Hellebuyck’s shoulder to give Dallas the lead.
He completed the hat trick 2:17 later on the power play, when Rantanen’s shot was deflected by Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg into the net, giving the Stars a 3-1 lead.
Rantanen is only the fourth player in NHL history, in the playoffs or regular season, to have consecutive games with a hat-trick in a single period. The last player to achieve this feat was Alex Ovechkin in 2017. Rantanen is also the first player in almost 40 years, and the third in history, with hat-tricks in consecutive playoff games. He is also the first player in the history of the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota North Stars to score a natural hat-trick in the playoffs.
DeBoer made a double shift with Rantanen during the game, having him play on a line with Mikael Granlund and Hintz, as well as with Dadonov and Sam Steel. The coach said that, by rotating four lines in Dallas, Rantanen was not getting the same amount of playing time as in Colorado, so the double shift made sense. Rantanen played 19:08 in Game 1.
He is used to playing many minutes.
DeBoer
Rantanen was acquired by the Stars in a major deal with the Carolina Hurricanes at the NHL trade deadline, with Dallas immediately signing him to an eight-year, $96 million extension. Rantanen was slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
It was the second time Rantanen was traded during the 2024-25 season. The Avalanche traded Rantanen to the Hurricanes in a separate major trade on January 24.
The Hurricanes decided to trade Rantanen to Dallas when it became clear he wouldn’t sign an extension with Carolina before free agency.
Their losses are the Stars’ gain, as the franchise seeks its first Stanley Cup championship since 2000. Rantanen is trying to win his second Stanley Cup ring, having won with the Avalanche in 2022. He is now third in points (77 in 56 games) among all players in the last five postseasons, behind only Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
