Colorado Hockey Team, Avalanche, Faces Off Against Competitors
Revamped Article:
Holy smokes, Dallas! Mikko Rantanen turned the Texas heat up a notch in Game 7 against his ex-brothers, the Colorado Avalanche. And it ain't just another day at the office for this Finnish forward - it was downright legendary.
Call it a emotional night, as Rantanen nearly ripped the Avalanche's hearts to shreds with a four-point quarter in Game 6, and he did it again, only this time in the third period of Game 7. In a nail-biting 4-2 win for the Dallas Stars, Rantanen erased a two-goal deficit by scoring a hat trick and assisting on another.
"Goddamn, those guys are my brothers, for sure," Rantanen said after the game. Most of 'em, I've known 'em for a decade and played with 'em for years. A couple of the boys have stuck by me since day one - MacKinnon and Landeskog. We're enemies on the ice, but I've always got love for 'em off the ice."
Fast forward 100 days back when Rantanen woke up as an Avalanche player. He hopped on the charter plane with his mates and flew off to Boston. Little did he know, he'd soon find himself traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, and later on, the Colorado rivals. He inked an eight-year, $96 million contract with the Dallas Stars, and boy, did he earn every penny in this series.
Four games in, and the Avs had done a solid job of containing their old pal. Then came the point-scoring frenzy. Three points in Game 5, four in Game 6, and another four in Game 7.
"The guy took over the series, plain and simple," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. "He decided we weren't going home without a fight, and that's what he showed us."
In Game 6, Rantanen and his new center Roope Hintz both tied an NHL playoff record with four points in a single frame. The Stars came back from a 2-0 deficit to lead 4-3 with 20 minutes left, only for the Avs to stage a rally for a 7-4 win, forcing a nail-biting Game 7.
But there was no rally to be had from Rantanen's brilliant rampage. He scored with 12:11 minutes remaining on a rocket from the circle. He added another after snagging the puck in the neutral zone, charging past Ryan Lindgren and pulling off a wraparound attempt off Samuel Girard and in.
He and fellow ex-Avs star Matt Duchene set up Wyatt Johnston's series-winner with 3:56 left, and Rantanen lit the lamp a few seconds early with an empty-net goal for good measure.
"Mikko's not always just creating chances every time he touches the puck, but big moments," Avs coach Jared Bednar said. "Look at that first goal, a fine individual effort, rips it off the bar in one piece. He finds a way to get the other one on the wraparound. Hits our skate, but it's still a high-quality play, and he capitalizes on it."
Rantanen leaves the Avs series with 12 points, putting him at the top of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs scorers list, one point ahead of Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon.
"Obviously, the feeling is incredible," Rantanen said after clinching the series. "To win against another team in the playoffs, it doesn't matter who it is. I'm just happy to be on the winning side and move on here."
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[1] https://www.nhl.com/news/mikko-rantanen-hat-trick-in-third-period-of-nhl-playoff-games-very-rare/c-321337504[2] https://www.nhl.com/news/mikko-rantanen-stars-eliminate-avalanche-in-game-7/c-321359424[3] https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/34346849/dallas-stars-win-game-7-eliminate-colorado-avalanche-nhl-playoffs
- Despite the trading drama that left him playing against his former team, Mikko Rantanen's performance in the playoffs, particularly in the Dallas Stars' series against the Colorado Avalanche, showcased his prowess in sports-analysis, earning him every penny of his $96 million contract.
- In the political realm of sports, Rantanen's alliance with his old teammates, such as captain Gabriel Landeskog, was a testament to the camaraderie that transcends the boundaries of sports, even when they found themselves on opposing sides.
- A review of sports policy in the NHL might necessitate a reconsideration of the points-scoring frenzy displayed by Rantanen, who set an impressive record with his four-point quarters in Games 6 and 7 of the series against the Avalanche, a performance reminiscent of legends in the world of sports.
- The arts of hockey and sports-analysis intertwine in the narrative of Mikko Rantanen's journey, as his individual efforts in Game 7 of the Stars' series against the Avalanche, marked by a hat-trick and a clutch assist, can be compared to a masterpiece in the annals of NHL history.
