Pete DeBoer drops ‘game-changer’ Mikko Rantanen truth bomb after Game 2 hat trick

Mikko Rantanen put the Dallas Stars on his back at the end of Round 1 against the Colorado Avalanche, recording 11 points in the final three games of the series, capped off by a hat trick in Game 7.

And he picked up right where he left off on Wednesday night, strengthening his Conn Smythe Trophy case with yet another three-goal performance in a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of their Western Conference second round series at Canada Life Centre.

“He’s a game-changer, right?” Stars head coach Pete DeBoer said afterwards, per The Athletic’s Murat Ates and Mark Lazerus. “You saw that last game, but he’s a game-changer in a league where everybody’s only got one of those guys, maybe two. The eight teams left probably have a couple each.

“I think the games get tight-checking, the scores get lower, there’s less and less room and those types of players have the ability to make something out of nothing. He did that the other night (in Game 7) for us. That’s sometimes what separates teams this time of year.”

Trailing 1-0 in the second period, Rantanen did all of his damage in the middle frame, scoring at 8:43, 14:21 and 16:38 — the hat trick goal coming on the powerplay — to help Dallas open up a 3-1 lead.

Mark Scheifele would get one back before the end of the period, but that’s as close as the Jets would get in Game 1. Rantanen now leads the playoffs in scoring with 15 points in just eight games, and it’s clear the Finnish superstar is a man on a mission this spring.

“He’s a big man and he’s hard to move,” Winnipeg bench boss Scott Arniel admitted. “When he decides to take pucks to the net, you’ve got to get into him early because he can do that. And then he has the offensive instincts and then the skill set that he has — he’s an elite goal scorer in this league.”

Stars draw 1st blood in Central Division championship

Following the tight victory, Rantanen and the Stars have stolen back home-ice advantage from the President’s Trophy-winning Jets. The top two teams in the Central Division both needed seven games to win their respective Round 1 series, and it’s looking like this could be another long one.

The Stars have been to the Western Conference Final each of the last two seasons, losing to the Edmonton Oilers in 2024 and Vegas Golden Knights in 2023. The Jets haven’t advanced to the West Final since 2017-18.

Right now, Dallas looks to have the edge, and Rantanen is the reason why. He’s the first player in nearly 40 years to record a hat trick in consecutive playoff games, and just the third in league history, per NHL.com’s Tracey Myers. Before Wednesday night, it hadn’t happened since Oilers star Jari Kurri accomplished the feat back in 1985.

“Sometimes it’s ups and downs in hockey and now it’s going well individually and as a team.” Rantanen said afterwards, per Myers. “But it’s important in the playoffs, like I’ve said before, if you win or you have a good game never get too high, you’ve got to reset and enjoy. Enjoy it for five minutes after the game and then reset.”

Spoken like a player who knows what it takes to win a Stanley Cup. The Stars will look to open up a commanding 2-0 series lead on Friday night.