Series highlights: ANOTHER hat trick for Mikko Rantanen

Mikko Rantanen is unstoppable

The Stars were in Winnipeg for the first game of their series against the Jets.

And it was the Jets who struck first… courtesy of Nino Niederreiter.

He beat the Stars goalie with a perfect backhand shot:

But this…

It was nice to see Mikko Rantanen wake up.

The Stars’ star player scored three goals in the last game of the series against the Avalanche… and he repeated the feat last night.

Rantanen STILL scored three times:

The Stars had a 3-1 lead in the game late in the second period, and Mark Scheifele wanted to give Jets fans some prospects.

He thwarted Connor Hellebuyck late in the frame and the Jets went back to the locker room losing by just one goal:

In the third period, we saw the animosity rise a notch between the two clubs.

It brewed :

In the end, the Stars were able to hold out to win the first game of the series (3-2).

Mikko Rantanen now has 14 points (eight goals)… in his last four games.

He’s really on fire. And right now, the Stars must be (really) glad they made the deal to get him from Carolina…

The Leafs are surprising

The Leafs were able to win the first game of the series against the Panthers.

And Florida managed to start Game 2 with a bang.

Aleksander Barkov opened the scoring in the first period:

Two goals were scored in the first 20 minutes of play.

Barkov’s… and Max Pacioretty’s, which tied it for the Leafs:

In the second, there was plenty of action.

After 4:18 of play in the second period… it was already 2-2.

Both clubs scored quickly at the start of the second 20 :

It started to get more physical after that.

At least… Scott Laughton wanted to send a message to his teammates by hitting Evan Rodrigues solidly.

Legal or not? You be the judge…

The score was still 2-2 with a few minutes to play in the second.

But…

But Max Domi stepped up to give his club the lead. After 40 minutes of play… it was 3-2 Leafs :

As they did early in the second, the Panthers wasted no time before striking in the third period.

Anton Lundell created the tie to bring everyone back to square one :

But if the Panthers thought this goal would rattle the Leafs’ players, they were wrong.

Because just 17 seconds after Lundell’s goal, Mitch Marner struck back.

Sergei Bobrovsky never saw the Leafs’ shot:

The Leafs were able to hold the lead until the end of the game to take the win (4-3).

It’s now 2-0 in the series for Toronto.

The next two games will be played at the Panthers’ home in Florida… and it will be interesting to see if the Panthers are able to come from behind in the series.

Right now, it’s looking good for the Leafs. But we know their tendency to escape the playoffs too…

Prolongation

– I love it.

– Classic.

–

– Two games tonight :