DALLAS – Mikko Rantanen, player of the Dallas Stars, will be out of action for a prolonged period due to a lower-body injury suffered during the Olympic Games. Coach Glen Gulutzan reported on Tuesday that, according to indications, Rantanen could return before the end of the regular season. However, he clarified that “it won’t be a matter of days” for the return of his top scorer.
Gulutzan did not specify the exact nature of Rantanen’s injury, who was injured in the Olympic semifinals and did not participate in Finland’s bronze medal match against Slovakia. The Stars placed Rantanen on the injured list on Monday, after the forward met with the team doctors.It won’t be one or two games. We’ll start counting from two weeks and see how it evolves,” said Gulutzan. “So he’ll be out for a while.
Glen Gulutzan
The Stars will host Seattle on Wednesday night and play at home again on Saturday against Nashville. They have 25 regular season games left until April 15th. Rantanen is in the first year of an eight-year, $96 million contract extension, obtained after being traded to the Stars at last season’s deadline. This season, he has 69 points (20 goals, 49 assists). The injury occurred during Finland’s 3-2 loss to Canada in the Olympic semi-finals on Friday night. Rantanen was one of six Stars players who returned from Italy with medals. Jake Oettinger was the backup goalie for the United States team that won the gold medal with a 2-1 overtime victory against Canada, which meant silver for Stars defenseman Thomas Harley. Four Dallas players were part of the Finland team that won the bronze: Rantanen, Roope Hintz, Esa Lindell, and Miro Heiskanen. Oettinger could rejoin the team for Wednesday’s morning skate, but Gulutzan confirmed he would not start against the Kraken.It was more or less what I expected when hearing what had happened at the Olympics,” Gulutzan commented after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s not the best news, but it’s things you have to deal with.
Glen Gulutzan
