Stars overcome injuries, doubts to advance

By David Mullen

“You have no business being in the playoffs.” 

“Burnt toast.” 

“Good season, boys. Maybe next year.” 

On May 3, with the series tied 3 games to 3, some fans on social media had given up on the Dallas Stars as they fell behind the Colorado Avalanche 2-0 early in the third period of Game 7 of the first round of the NHL Playoffs at American Airlines Center. The Stars 2024-25 season was on the brink of disaster. 

“Game 7 at home and you guys cannot score even one goal. This is really pathetic.”

With apologies to the rival St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights, the Avalanche are the Stars’ arch enemy and vice versa. During the course of 30 years, Dallas and Colorado have established themselves as the NHL’s best Western Conference teams. 

When the Avalanche stood in the way of the Stars reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 1999 and 2000, the Stars won each Western Conference Final series in seven games.

Because of a flawed NHL playoff system designed under the watch of polarizing commissioner Gary Bettman, the Stars — despite a 106-point regular season record — had to play the 102-point Avs in the first round. The Stars could have avoided the scenario if they had not lost their last seven regular season games.

“[Jake] Oettinger always vanishes in the playoffs.”

Early in period three of Game 7, Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon ripped a shot past Dallas goalie Oettinger for a two-goal lead. The injured Stars, playing without top defenseman Miro Heiskanen and top scorer Jason Robertson, looked defeated.   

Then, in a matter of 12 minutes, the Avalanche fan’s No. 1 mark — winger Mikko Rantanen — became the Stars’ unlikely hero. Considered a surprise acquisition by Dallas at the 2025 trading deadline, Rantanen was a beloved Avs player for nine seasons after joining the team as a 19-year-old.

 Faced with a contentious contract battle, Colorado shipped Rantanen to Carolina, where he played just 13 games before being traded to Dallas. 

The Stars immediately extended Rantanen’s contract by eight seasons. Avs fans considered Rantanen greedy for not resigning with the only team he has ever played for. Rantanen playing for the hated Stars was unthinkable. Considered ineffective in his short regular season stint with the Stars, Rantanen had added pressure to try to fill the offensive void caused by the Robertson absence. He didn’t seem to quite grasp the Stars offensive game plan. But the playoffs often bring out the best, or the worst, in a player.

Rantanen scored three late third-period goals — the first hat trick in a single period of a Game 7 in NHL history — and turned the two-goal deficit into a stunning 4-2 Stars win. 

He also assisted with the winning goal for a fourth point, a remarkable Wyatt Johnston sweeper from outside the left crease with his skates toeing the goal line. Rantanen added an empty net goal to seal the series and save the day and the season for the Stars.

After a stunning Game 7 game-tying goal with 2.2 seconds left forced overtime, the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Blues in 2OT on May 4. The Stars moved on to play the Jets, the 2024-25 President’s Cup winner with 116 points, in a second round, best-of-7 series on May 7.  

As it has become customary season after season, the Stars and the Avalanche were two evenly matched teams. The Jets pose a different challenge. They are defensive minded and more disciplined than the free-wielding Avs. “Nothing is that dramatically different,” Stars head coach Pete DeBoer told NHL.com. “They’re all versions of each other. I think Winnipeg defends really well. They hang their hat on defending, so that presents a little bit of challenge than the individual player who can break you down.”

The Stars probably need a healthy Robertson to beat the stingy Winnipeg defense with his added firepower. But a return of Heiskanen is an absolute must. He is arguably the Stars’ best player and unquestionably the soul of the Dallas defense. 

“I believe you’re going to see them both play in the second round, but I don’t know if it’s going to be Game 1 or Game 3 or Game 5,” DeBoer told the AP after eliminating Colorado. “I consider them both day-to-day now, but there’s still some hurdles.” With the best-of-7 series victory over Colorado, DeBoer is now 9-0 in his coaching career in Game 7 playoff games.  

The timetable for the return of Heiskanen and Robertson remains murky by design. The NHL in general and teams in particular never get specific with injuries. Both players have been out for weeks with “lower body injuries.” Hockey injuries are held covertly like government secrets and the NHL does not trade information on the Signal app. 

As the Stars mounted the late Game 7 comeback against Colorado, social media pundits changed their tune. “I’m actually crying tears of joy watching this,” one wrote. “BANG!! Just like that, it’s not over yet.”

The race to the Stanley Cup is not over yet. The Stars must now overcome a stingy Winnipeg squad to advance to the Western Conference Final. Getting Heiskanen and Robertson back will enhance the Stars’ chance of victory. But Dallas now has Rantanen, the star of the moment looking for his next flash of heroism.