Breakaway on SI

Stars' Mikko Rantanen Finally Breaks Through vs. Former Team

After a slow start to the playoffs, Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen is finally on the board.

Jon Alfano

Dallas Stars right wing Mikko Rantanen scores a goal against Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.
Dallas Stars right wing Mikko Rantanen scores a goal against Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
In this story:

From the moment the first-round matchup between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche became official, all eyes were on Mikko Rantanen.

Rantanen, 28, spent nearly 10 years with the Avalanche and won a Stanley Cup in 2022 before a stunning trade to the Carolina Hurricanes in January. In a stunning twist, however, the Hurricanes sent him to the Stars about six weeks later, and he signed a massive extension to stay in Dallas for the next eight years. Suddenly, he was back in the Central Division and on a collision course with his former team.

Unfortunately, Rantanen did not start the series on the right foot. Through the first four games, the Finnish superstar had just one point, a secondary assist on Tyler Seguin's overtime winner in Game 3, and had a dismal minus-4 rating. Frankly, he and the Stars were lucky that the series was tied going back to Dallas considering they only led for just over a minute in those first four games.

That all changed in Game 5 on Monday night however. Rantanen scored his first goal of the series and added a pair of assists to lift Dallas to a dominant 6-2 victory. The Stars now have a 3-2 lead in the series and can close it out in Denver on Thursday night.

“Huge relief for him," Stars head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters after the game. "You could tell by our group’s reaction how happy our guys were for him. I mean, they feel that. They see him carrying that around.

“Having said that, I can’t tell you how professional he’s been in his approach every day in putting the team first. You wouldn’t know he hasn’t scored. He cares about us winning. I think more importantly he wants to know defensively what we can do, what he can do to help us win. But this guy has scored his whole life. He gets paid to score, and I think when guys like that finally get one, hopefully, look out.”

Adjusting to life after Colorado has clearly been difficult for Ranatanen. He had just six points (two goals, four assists) in 13 games with the Hurricanes, and while he improved with 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 20 regular-season games with the Stars, he still wasn't scoring at the rate he was with the Avalanche.

He finally looked like his old self on Monday night, though, and at the perfect time too. If Rantanen can keep playing like that, he and the Stars will be a very tough out for any opponent.

Make sure you bookmark Breakaway On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

Published
Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

Jon is a lead writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI and contributes to other sites around the network as well. The Tampa native previously worked with sites such as ClutchPoints and GiveMeSport and earned his journalism degree at the University of Central Florida.

Home/News Feed Page