Top Five Mikko Rantanen Moments From First Round

Yahoo

04-05-2025

Mikko Rantanen had a legendary performance in Game 7 to propel the Dallas Stars to the second round, posting four points and a hat trick in the third period of a 4-2 comeback win over the Colorado Avalanche.
The former Avs superstar took revenge on his former team in the most ruthless way, posting 10 points in the final three games of the series.
Let's take a look back at his top five moments from the first round:
5. A beautiful spin-o-rama pass from Rantanen found Roope Hintz on the power play in Game 6 to get Dallas on the board and set up a comeback effort for the Stars. This was a thing of beauty, and could have been a lot higher if Dallas had managed to hang on and win the game. His go-ahead goal to make it 4-3 did not even make the list, mostly because of the blown lead in the eventual 7-4 loss, but this assist was too good not to crack the top-5.
Roope goal off the RIDICULOUS Moose assist 🍎Game on.#TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/XAQ0B6ux0I
— Victory+ (@victoryplustv) May 2, 2025
4. While Hintz might have done a lot of the work on this entry, Rantanen was able to finish off a blazing fast 2-on-1 against Mackenzie Blackwood to increase the Stars lead to 3-0 in Game 5. It ended up being the game-winner, as Colorado actually closed the gap to 3-2 in the second period before Dallas pulled away again.
THE MOOSE IS LOOSE 🫎Mikko Rantanen scores his first playoff goal in a @DallasStars uniform ... against his former club. pic.twitter.com/iafdfuuujU
— Victory+ (@victoryplustv) April 29, 2025
3. Rantanen muscled a puck out of his own zone to Mason Marchment, who fended off Devon Toews and sent the puck to Tyler Seguin for the overtime winner in Game 3 to give Dallas a 2-1 series lead. Colorado might have sealed this series up early if Dallas had not squeaked by in overtime in Games 2 and 3.
THE STARS WIN AGAIN IN OVERTIME!! 🤩 Tyler Seguin scores the @Energizer overtime winner, and the @DallasStars have a 2-1 series lead! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/SwhKHi3G4Y
— NHL (@NHL) April 24, 2025
2. Rantanen's empty net goal to seal the hat trick might seem like the obvious number one choice, but in terms of importance, it really only comes in as the runner-up. There were only two seconds left on the clock, and Dallas was set to win either way. That being said, finishing the night off with the hat trick was the perfect ending to a story that could not have been written more perfectly.
Empty net goal for Dallas!Scored by Mikko Rantanen with 00:03 remaining in the 3rd period.Assisted by Tyler Seguin and Esa Lindell.Dallas: 4Colorado: 2#COLvsDAL #TexasHockey #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/nD2pJolJuW
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) May 4, 2025
1. Rantanen's individual effort to cut through the Avs defense and wrap the puck around for the tying goal, getting the puck to the front of the net even after getting tripped up by Blackwood's pad, has to be the top moment. If it weren't for his individual effort to score the two goals to tie the game up, Colorado very well could have gone on to win the series.
RANTANEN DOES IT ALL BY HIMSELF AND WE HAVE A TIE GAME 😱 pic.twitter.com/Y7hf4iIAb9
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 4, 2025
A memorable series and a history making performance by Rantanen will go down in Stars lore as one of the most unbelievable memories in franchise history. And if the team wins the Stanley Cup, it will be solely due to this performance - a single-handed effort bring the team back from the dead in a Game 7 that would have ended their playoff run far too early.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
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