DALLAS — Mikko Rantanen has truly transitioned, becoming comfortable with the Stars as they return to Colorado, holding an opportunity to advance in the NHL playoffs.
In his initial playoff series playing for Dallas, facing his previous club, Rantanen made a significant impact with his first playoff goal and two assists in the Stars` Game 5 win. This victory positioned them to potentially eliminate the Avalanche for the second consecutive year.
“It feels like reality now,” Rantanen remarked with a smile on Wednesday, the day preceding Game 6.
Having participated in the playoffs with the Avalanche for the past seven years and played with the team for ten seasons, including their 2022 Stanley Cup win, Rantanen experienced two trades within six weeks. He was first moved to Carolina on January 24, then to Dallas on March 7 in a trade deadline transaction finalized after he signed an eight-year, $96 million contract extension.
Including playoff games, the 28-year-old Rantanen has now appeared in 25 contests for the Stars.
“The main thing, I believe, is feeling comfortable and playing by instinct,” Rantanen stated. “The strategies and everything are secondary now; I don’t need to consciously think about my positioning on the ice. It comes naturally, and that will only improve with more games played… `Settling in` is an apt phrase for achieving peak performance.”
The previous season, during Game 6 in Colorado, the Stars concluded a second-round series with Matt Duchene`s goal at 11:42 of the second overtime, securing a 2-1 win. In that particular game, Rantanen scored the only goal for the Avalanche.
In Game 3 of the current series, which was his first playoff game in Colorado as an opposing player, Rantanen earned a secondary assist on Tyler Seguin`s winning goal in overtime. This was his sole playoff point for Dallas until Game 5, where he scored during a 2-on-1 rush, following clever give-and-go plays with Roope Hintz. Despite the lack of points earlier, he registered 12 shots on goal across the first four games.
“He`s getting comfortable, and I believe his performance is better than his stats indicate. I felt he had two or three strong games in this series already,” commented Dallas coach Pete DeBoer. “He was excellent in Colorado that night (Game 3)… I see him playing more consistently comfortable games now, and he will make a difference, even if the points don`t always reflect it.”
Over 81 playoff games with Colorado, Rantanen accumulated 99 points (34 goals, 65 assists). Although his final game for the Avalanche was on January 22, he still finished the regular season as their third-highest scorer with 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in his 49 games played for them, trailing only Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
After recording six points (including two goals) during his 13 games with Carolina, Rantanen contributed five goals and 13 assists in his last 20 regular-season games for Dallas. This brought his total for the season to 88 points (32 goals) across 82 games. This marks the seventh time in eight seasons he averaged more than a point per game, with the only instance below that being 41 points in 42 games during the 2019-20 season.
In Dallas, he skates on a line alongside fellow Finnish players Roope Hintz and Mikael Granlund. Hintz, who is the same age as Rantanen, has spent his entire seven-season NHL career with Dallas. The 33-year-old Granlund joined the team from San Jose via trade on February 1, and has played just 11 more games for Dallas than Rantanen.
“They share a history, having played together for Finland and on national teams,” DeBoer noted. “I`m unsure if they`ve specifically been on the same line before, but that kind of familiarity always accelerates chemistry. Being countrymen who speak Finnish to each other allows for very easy communication.”
Matt Duchene played his initial eight-plus NHL seasons with Colorado; Rantanen was a rookie during Duchene`s last full season there.
“It’s beneficial having him in the locker room,” Duchene stated. “You recognize his quality as a player from his professional demeanor. He’s a very easy person to integrate into the team.”
