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Time of India
5 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Mikko Rantanen challenges the Dallas Stars to rise after a crushing loss to the Edmonton Oilers
Image Via Getty This is a very dangerous moment for the Dallas Stars after faltering once again against the Edmonton Oilers. As things now remain barely sticking for the veterans, Mikko Rantanen has taken up the mantle and not only contributed on the ice but also by being outspoken in the locker room. Dallas must mentally and physically regroup to avoid elimination because of a string of losses, culminating with the 4-1 battering in Game 4. Mikko Rantanen urges Stars to reset as series nears breaking point The pressure continues mounting against the Dallas Stars, and Mikko Rantanen is not letting it pass. Marking the third straight loss to the Edmonton Oilers, Rantanen issued this rallying cry to his teammates: reset and fight back. This was said with urgency as the Stars are now trailing 3-1 in the best-of-seven series with little to no margin for error going back home. The Oilers set the tone in Game 4 on Tuesday, never letting up from the opening whistle. Leon Draisaitl onto the power play in the first period with a perfect one-timer to put Edmonton on the board early, a fitting way to start the seventh straight game in which Edmonton has scored first this postseason. Gaining that early advantage remounted the momentum once again towards the Oilers. Reader disappointed! For a time, Jason Robertson had made a glimmer of hope for Dallas: a power-play goal nicked the game in the second period. Edmonton had no time in regaining control. Corey Perry came away with the finish from a sharp cross-ice pass to restore the Oilers' lead. Down the stretch, Dallas faced offensive smothering, having managed to look at the goal a mere four times. Edmonton then stamped its seal early on the affair with two empty-net goals—the first by Kasperi Kapanen and the second by Adam Henrique. The Game 5 challenge was suddenly not just tactical but psychological. Dallas needed to gain enough mental strength to push back against the tide; Rantanen urged the team to let the frustration go and focus forward. Also Read: Did Mikko Rantanen just end Josh Morrissey's season? NHL faces heat over possible suspension call For the Dallas Stars to carry their run to further levels, the team must clutch Mikko Rantanen's yell cry. The season of signing for Game 5 at Dallas will define them, not just for the Cup aspirations but for the spirit of the team. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
NBC Sports
6 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Stars need more production from their stars to avoid elimination against the Oilers
Mikko Rantanen and Mikael Granlund scored seven of the Dallas Stars' 13 goals in the second round to move on to the Western Conference final against the Edmonton Oilers, yet that lopsided production also was a red flag. Three-time Stanley Cup champion Ken Daneyko before the series started figured that needed to change. 'They do have more of a game-breaker with Mikko Rantanen,' Daneyko said. 'But the Johnstons and Dadonovs and the Duchenes and Seguin and Benn — whoever — these guys are going to have score some big goals or make a few big plays to beat the Oilers and the depth they have.' While Tyler Seguin has scored twice, Wyatt Johnston, Evgenii Dadonov, Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn have one goal between them, and now the Stars find themselves down two games to one in the best-of-seven series. They went nearly 100 minutes without scoring on Edmonton's Stuart Skinner from Games 1 through 3 and went another 24 minutes without a goal on the way to a 6-1 loss. With the status of injured center Roope Hintz uncertain after getting slashed in the left foot/ankle by Darnell Nurse in Game 2 badly enough that he was out in Game 3 and with Rantanen's playoff-opening magic seemingly wearing off, Dallas needs more offense from its top players to avoid getting pushed to the brink of elimination. 'Five on five we've got to find a way to finish our chances a little bit more,' Rantanen told reporters in Edmonton. 'Obviously Skinner is making good saves, but we've got to make life harder for him.' Skinner has stopped 80 of the 86 shots he has faced, but he's not the only netminder to stymie the Stars away from home this postseason. Connor Hellebuyck blanked them in Game 5 last round in Winnipeg, and their scoreless streak on the road lasted a franchise-worst 178:57 before Jason Robertson scored their lone goal. The impatience is building. 'It's something that's tough when you get so many chances,' said Rantanen, who's tied for the playoff lead in goals with nine but none so far against the Oilers. 'It's frustrating, and it's something that it's hard to not let the frustration come, but we've got to do our best to not let it come to our minds.' Coach Peter DeBoer, in the West final for a sixth time in seven years and aiming to reach the Cup final with a third different NHL team, does not sound frustrated. 'There's good signs in our game,' DeBoer said in his post-Game 5 news conference. 'If we can keep bringing that game to the rink, I like our chances of coming back in this series.' Robertson scoring his first goal of the playoffs is one of the reasons for optimism. He missed the entire first round against Colorado with injury and is only now starting to look like his regular-season point-a-game self. DeBoer called Game 5 Robertson's best since returning. 'There's no doubt he's been a step behind since he came back in,' DeBoer said. 'We need him. We need that scoring out of him. We haven't had it.' Even without depth scoring, Dallas is right there in the series thanks to a barrage of three power-play goals in 5 1/2 minutes in the third period of Game 1. The Oilers have been the better team at 5 on 5 for long stretches, but the Stars have not wilted under pressure. 'A great trait to have: they can be outplayed, but they're opportunistic,' said Daneyko, now an NHL Network analyst. 'They win games when they're outplayed. You have to be able to do that in the playoffs.' And sometimes win away from home, too, which is easier said than done given the crazed crowd in Edmonton. 'We still have an opportunity to try to at least get one on the road,' Robertson said. 'We know what we have to do. A lot of veterans in this locker room, and they're going to be up to the challenge.' Hintz could return after taking part in an optional practice, with DeBoer saying the 28-year-old Finn will take warmups to determine if he can play.
Fox Sports
7 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Stars need more production from their stars to avoid elimination against the Oilers
Associated Press Mikko Rantanen and Mikael Granlund scored seven of the Dallas Stars' 13 goals in the second round to move on to the Western Conference final against the Edmonton Oilers, yet that lopsided production was also a red flag. Three-time Stanley Cup champion Ken Daneyko before the series started figured that needed to change. "They do have more of a game-breaker with Mikko Rantanen," Daneyko said. 'But the Johnstons and Dadonovs and the Duchenes and Seguin and Benn — whoever — these guys are going to have score some big goals or make a few big plays to beat the Oilers and the depth they have.' While Tyler Seguin has scored twice, Wyatt Johnston, Evgenii Dadonov, Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn have one goal between them, and now the Stars find themselves down two games to one in the best-of-seven series. They went nearly 100 minutes without scoring on Edmonton's Stuart Skinner from Games 1 through 3 and went another 24 minutes without a goal on the way to a 6-1 loss Sunday. With the status of injured center Roope Hintz uncertain after getting slashed in the left foot/ankle by Darnell Nurse in Game 2 badly enough that he was out Sunday and with Rantanen's playoff-opening magic seemingly wearing off, Dallas needs more offense from its top players to avoid getting pushed to the brink of elimination. 'Five on five we've got to find a way to finish our chances a little bit more,' Rantanen told reporters in Edmonton. 'Obviously Skinner is making good saves, but we've got to make life harder for him.' Skinner has stopped 80 of the 86 shots he has faced, but he's not the only netminder to stymie the Stars away from home this postseason. Connor Hellebuyck blanked them in Game 5 last round in Winnipeg, and their scoreless streak on the road lasted a franchise-worst 178:57 before Jason Robertson scored their lone goal Sunday. The impatience is building. 'It's something that's tough when you get so many chances,' said Rantanen, who's tied for the playoff lead in goals with nine but none so far against the Oilers. 'It's frustrating, and it's something that it's hard to not let the frustration come, but we've got to do our best to not let it come to our minds.' Coach Peter DeBoer, in the West final for a sixth time in seven years and aiming to reach the Cup final with a third different NHL team, does not sound frustrated. "There's good signs in our game," DeBoer said in his post-Game 5 news conference. 'If we can keep bringing that game to the rink, I like our chances of coming back in this series.' Robertson scoring his first goal of the playoffs is one of the reasons for optimism. He missed the entire first round against Colorado with injury and is only now starting to look like his regular-season point-a-game self. DeBoer called Game 5 Robertson's best since returning. "There's no doubt he's been a step behind since he came back in," DeBoer said. 'We need him. We need that scoring out of him. We haven't had it.' Even without depth scoring, Dallas is right there in the series thanks to a barrage of three power-play goals in 5 1/2 minutes in the third period of Game 1. The Oilers have been the better team at 5 on 5 for long stretches, but the Stars have not wilted under pressure. 'A great trait to have: they can be outplayed, but they're opportunistic,' said Daneyko, now an NHL Network analyst. 'They win games when they're outplayed. You have to be able to do that in the playoffs.' And sometimes win away from home, too, which is easier said than done given the crazed crowd in Edmonton. 'We still have an opportunity to try to at least get one on the road,' Robertson said. 'We know what we have to do. A lot of veterans in this locker room, and they're going to be up to the challenge on Tuesday.' Hintz could return after taking part in an optional practice Monday, with DeBoer saying the 28-year-old Finn will take warmups to determine if he can play. ___ AP NHL playoffs: and recommended
NBC Sports
23-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Finns Up! NHL playoffs include 13 players from Finland on the 4 teams in conference finals
DALLAS — Dallas Stars coach Peter DeBoer jokingly has referred to himself as being Finnish during these NHL playoffs. After all, he has five of the 13 players from Finland who are on the rosters of the four teams still chasing the Stanley Cup. The Stars' top line is a trio of Finns, with top-scoring forward Mikko Rantanen alongside Roope Hintz and Mikael Granlund. They also have veteran defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell, who both scored in the third period of a comeback win over Edmonton in the West semifinal opener. 'They're phenomenal,' Stars forward Tyler Seguin said of his teammates playing more than 5,000 miles from their home country. 'I'd say we're a Finnish-first team probably now.' In the East final, the Florida Panthers have four Finnish players who were also part of last year's Stanley Cup title: captain Aleksander Barkov, Eetu Luostarinen, Niko Mikkola and Anton Lundell. Carolina, which had Rantanen for a 13-game stretch this season before trading him to Dallas, has Sebastian Aho, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Juha Jaaska. Luostarinen, who in 2017 was a second-round draft pick by the Hurricanes, had four points in Florida's series clincher over Tampa Bay in Round 1. He added three more in Game 7 of the second round against Toronto. 'It's nice to see so many Finns getting so far, and I think playing key roles on their teams, playing high minutes,' Luostarinen said. 'I think it's just the work they put in in Finland, from juniors all the way to the top level. It's top notch.' All 12 of the Finns who have played this postseason have scored goals, and half have at least 10 points. Rantanen, first traded from Colorado to Carolina and then six weeks later to the Stars, leads all players with nine goals and 20 points. Kasperi Kapanen is the lone Finnish player for the Oilers, and his only point so far this postseason was a huge one: an overtime goal to wrap up the second round series against Vegas. From Finland to the NHL The Dallas and Miami metropolitan areas each has more residents than Finland, but the nation of 5.6 million is a growing hockey power. There were 53 Finns on NHL rosters this season among 268 all-time, according to Divide the number of NHL players into a country's population, and Finland sends about as many players to the league per capita as Canada or Sweden. 'They've done a great job of developing players over in Finland,' Stars general manager Jim Nill said. 'We know they're good players, but they're just really good human beings. ... When you talk about the Finnish players, they play the game the right way. They're well-coached, they understand both ends of the ice.' Dallas and Florida played two regular-season games in Finland in November, the 10th and 11th the NHL has played there. The Panthers won both games in Barkov's hometown of Tampere while the seven Finnish players combined for 11 points, led by his four. Team Finland won the gold medal in the 2022 Olympics, when the NHL's decision not to send players to Beijing kept Aho, Barkov and Rantanen from participating. They were among nine of the still-playing Finns who represented their country in this year's 4 Nations Face-Off, and likely will be part of the 2026 Olympics. 'On my end with those guys, this is the golden age of Finnish hockey,' said DeBoer, an assistant for Team Canada in the 4 Nations. 'If you look at the last decade, those guys have won a lot of tournaments, under-18, world juniors, world championships. They know how to win. They have those winning habits and that's what makes them easy to coach, easy to play.' Jere Lehtinen, who played all 14 of his NHL seasons with the Stars and was part of their 1999 Stanley Cup championship, is the GM of the Finnish national team. Impact players In Carolina, Aho is the top-line center and the team's top-paid player, a 27-year-old locked up long term after signing an extension paying $9.75 million per year through the 2031-32 season. The team's second-round pick from 2015 has been a core piece of Carolina being the only NHL team with an active streak of winning at least one postseason series for seven straight years. When the Stars acquired Rantanen from the Hurricanes, that trade deadline deal was contingent on the 28-year-old forward signing an eight-year, $96 million contract extension. He had 101 points (34 goals, 67 assists) in 81 playoff games for the Colorado the past seven years, including the Avalanche's 2022 Cup run, before his 12 points against them in the first round this postseason that included his hat trick in Game 7. Rantanen had another hat trick in the second period of Game 1 in the second round against top-seeded Winnipeg. Speaking Finnish Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling, who is from neighboring Sweden, still sometimes doesn't understand Mikkola. 'He's very funny. He's got the Finnish accent, which is hilarious — sometimes I don't know what he's saying,' Forsling said. 'But he always comes back to the bench saying something, and it's hilarious.' Heiskanen, who was 19 when he made his Stars debut in 2018, said it's great to have Finnish teammates as he has throughout his NHL career. 'It's fun off the ice, too,' Heiskanen said when asked about the additions of Rantanen and Granlund, who at 33 is the oldest of the playoff Finns. 'Can speak Finnish and do stuff together.' Seguin said he has learned a few swear words in Finnish, along with some simple phrases. But there are times when he and team captain Jamie Benn wonder what is being said, and 'have the Google translator out trying to figure it out.' The only word that really matters right now is 'voittaa,' which generally translates as 'to win.'
NBC Sports
23-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Stars get some secondary scoring and power-play goals, now seek 2-0 series lead over Oilers
DALLAS — Mikko Rantanen has gone four games in a row without scoring, which really isn't as bad as it sounds for the Dallas Stars. That means they are starting to get more points from other players. Dallas won three of those games, including the second-round finale over top-seeded Winnipeg in Game 6, then the opener in the Western Conference final rematch with Edmonton after a franchise playoff-record five goals in the third period. Three of those came on power plays. 'Everyone was talking about our lack of secondary scoring. The last round ... none of our guys were going to have big numbers in the Winnipeg series,' said coach Peter DeBoer, noting the Jets being the league's top defensive team. 'I really felt confident that they were going to get going because even in that Winnipeg series, particularly late in that series, Game 6, I started to see some real signs of creating some real chances ... signs we were going to get some production.' The Stars certainly got some chances and production late in the 6-3 victory over Edmonton in Game 1. They have the opportunity to take a 2-0 lead for the first time in 12 playoff series since 2020. Dallas overcame a multigoal deficit in the third period and won in regulation for the second time this postseason, becoming the first NHL team ever to do that in the same postseason. The Stars' other late comeback was in the first round against Colorado, when Rantanen had a hat trick as part of a four-point third period in Game 7 against his former team. Matt Duchene finally got his first goal of these playoffs. His tiebreaker against the Oilers was the third consecutive power-play goal in the first six minutes of the third period for Dallas, which was 0 for 14 with a man advantage in a six-game series loss last year. Esa Lindell also got his first goal. So did Miro Heiskanen, though the standout defenseman played for only the fourth time since Jan. 28. He missed the final 32 regular-season games and first 10 in the playoffs because of left knee surgery. 'Really good for 40 (minutes) and really bad for 20. Ultimately, that's what it came down to,' Edmonton center Connor McDavid said. 'Where it got away from us, obviously (was) the kill. A two-goal lead in the third, we take a couple penalties, and we've got to find a way to get a kill.' While the Oilers certainly never anticipated to again keep Dallas completely off the board with a man advantage in another long series, they sure didn't expect to give up three in such quick order. 'The more time you defend, the more time you're in a position to take penalties,' Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. 'When they push, you're in a position to defend, and you're getting vulnerable to having to take a stick infraction or any kind of infraction. ... They're a good team 5-on-5, exceptionally well on the power play. We have to make adjustments to one, get better on the penalty kill, but also giving them fewer opportunities.' Still the scoring leader Rantanen remains the NHL leader this postseason with his nine goals and 20 points, even with only two assists in the past four games. That followed a remarkable run when he had a part in an NHL-playoff record 13 consecutive goals for a team. He had back-to-back games with four-point periods against Colorado, his former team, then had another three-goal game in the second-round opener against the Jets. Leon Draisaitl (six goals) and Connor McDavid (three goals), the 100-point teammates in the regular season, both have 19 points in the playoffs. Draisaitl had a goal and two assists in Game 1 against the Stars, while McDavid had two assists. Going for 2 Dallas has won consecutive Game 1s after an unexplainable stretch of losing eight consecutive series openers since 2022. Now the Stars can take a 2-0 series lead for the first time since the second round of the 2020 playoffs, when they went on to beat Colorado in six games and made the Stanley Cup Final in the bubble in Canada during that pandemic-impacted season. The last time the Stars won their first two games at home in a playoff series was 2016 in the first round against Minnesota.
