Mikko Rantanen has second straight
hat trick as Stars beat Jets 3-2 in series opener
[May 08, 2025]
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Mikko Rantanen had a natural hat
trick in the second period, Jake Oettinger stopped 30 shots and the
Dallas Stars beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Wednesday night in Game 1
of the second-round series.
Rantanen, who had a hat trick in the third period of the Stars’ Game
7 win over his former Colorado teammates, is the third player in NHL
history — and the first in nearly 40 years — with hat tricks in
consecutive playoff games.
Edmonton’s Jari Kurri accomplished the feat in Games 5 and 6 of the
1985 Campbell Conference final, and Chicago’s Doug Bentley did the
same in Games 4 and 5 of the 1944 Stanley Cup Final.
“Sometimes it goes that way,” said Rantanen, acquired from Carolina
at the trade deadline. “The third goal goes off them and goes
five—hole. Or when you’re going through a tough stretch, you feel
like you could only pray for those and those never come."
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night in Winnipeg.
Nino Niederreiter and Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets, who had
won four in a row at Canada Life Centre. Connor Hellebuyck made 21
saves.
Scheifele returned after sustaining an upper-body injury in Game 5
in the first round against St. Louis. Dallas forward Jason Robertson
was back after injuring a knee in the final game of the regular
season.
The Jets led the NHL with 116 points to earn home-ice advantage
through the playoffs, while Dallas was second in the Central
Division and third in the Western Conference with 106.
“We know we just gave up home-ice advantage,” Jets coach Scott
Arniel said. “And that wasn’t a game where they rolled over top of
us for three periods. That was a game where we weren’t at our best."
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Linesman Devin Berg (87) gets between Dallas Stars' Roope Hintz (24)
and Winnipeg Jets' Dylan Demelo (2) during the third period of an
NHL hockey playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Wednesday, May 7,
2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)
Niederreiter got the sold-out crowd cheering when
his sharp-angled backhander beat Oettinger at 3:30 of the second
period. He became the NHL’s first Swiss-born player to skate in 100
postseason games.
Rantanen tied it at 8:43 with his sixth goal of the playoffs. His
second goal was a tip of Thomas Harley’s point shot with 5:39 left,
and he made it 3-1 on the power play 2:17 later when his shot went
in off Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg.
"Sometimes it’s ups and downs in hockey and now it’s going well
individually and as a team,” Rantanen said.
Rantanen extended his points streak to four games with eight goals
and six assists across the stretch. He has 15 points this
postseason.
“He’s one of the best players in the world and he’s just on fire
right now, so we’re just trying to get him the puck,” said center
Sam Steele, who assisted on Rantanen’s first goal of the night.
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