“Really no words to describe the belief in the group, the whole team of ours. There was no quit at any point,” Dallas Stars’ star Mikko Rantanen said, still catching his breath after the kind of third-period magic that lives forever in playoff lore. Down 0–2 in a tense Game 7, inside a wild American Airlines Center, he dropped not one, not two, but three goals in the third like he had the script in his back pocket the whole time. His first came in hot at 7:49, then boom; another at 13:46. Right when the crowd was barely back in their seats, Wyatt Johnston snagged the game-winner, and Mikko slammed the door shut with an empty-netter.
The Avs had brought the heat, even dragged it to Game 7 behind goals from Josh Manson and Nathan MacKinnon, but once that third period hit? It was Dallas’ world and Mikko’s stage. “We just kept going,” Mikko added. “There was still chatter on the bench. And we knew we had to earn a couple bounces, and we did. Big win, so I’m happy for the group.” And happy he should be, because not only did he help knock out his former squad in epic fashion, but he made NHL history with his second four-point third period in a Game 7. And just like that, the Dallas Stars pulled off the unthinkable, storming back against Colorado with Mikko Rantanen dropping a hat-trick masterclass in the playoffs!
“Avs were at 94% chance to advance before Dallas comeback,” Money Puck casually dropped on X, and man, did that age like milk. Thirty minutes into the game, Colorado still had that swagger with a 30% shot to push through. A few heartbeats later? Down to 10%. And that’s exactly when the Stars flipped the switch, lit the fire, and let the hockey gods take over. By the 45th minute, Dallas had a sliver, just 20%. Then came the tidal wave. Boom, 50%. And before you could blink again, it was a full-blown 100% stunner. Game over. Dallas wins. Colorado stunned.
Avs were at 94% chance to advance before Dallas comeback. https://t.co/FDtCDeYLgm pic.twitter.com/t7oJpvRAOD
— MoneyPuck.com (@MoneyPuckdotcom) May 4, 2025
But oh, it wasn’t just a team effort; it was Mikko Magic. From former Avs heartbreaker to Dallas dream-maker, Rantanen went full beast mode in the third. ᴀʀᴅᴀ Öᴄᴀʟ nearly had to pick his jaw off the broadcast desk when he posted, “Mikko Rantanen is the first player in NHL history with a game 7 third period hat trick.” You read that right—first ever. And then came the cherry on top, that poetic punctuation mark, Pierre LeBrun sealed the vibes with, “Rantanen empty-netter for the hat trick. Wow. No Heiskanen, no Robertson, no problem. The Dallas Stars win a Stanley Cup level series with the rival Colorado Avalanche, one of the best series I’ve ever covered.”
And hey, let’s rewind just a bit. Remember when a Dallas Stars’ player got spared a penalty a few days ago, and some fans were straight-up heated about it? Yeah, that little moment stirred up a storm on the timeline. Could that have been the universe setting up the plot twist? Could that call, yep, that one, be the spark that secretly lit Dallas’ playoff fire?
Dallas Stars might have had a lucky day?
A couple days back, the Dallas Stars snatched another shiny lil’ “W” for their collection, and this time? No party crashers allowed. After getting absolutely iced 4-0 in Game 4 (yep, the one where Gabriel Landeskog came back like some fairytale ghost and scored his first goal in three whole years), Dallas came back like they’d just been turbocharged. That Game 4 shutout? They brushed it off like lint on a jersey and skated into Game 5 breathing fire, dropping a spicy 5-2 dub that had the Avs spinning in their skates.
But the real drama wasn’t even about the scoreboard; it was all about what the zebras didn’t do. Refs were out there acting like part-time magicians, letting some high-key dirty plays slide like they didn’t see a thing. Case in point? B/R Open Ice dropped a clip that had fans gasping in group chats and comment sections—Roope Hintz went full lumberjack and whacked Nathan MacKinnon right across the neck with his stick. And the refs? Crickets. “Hintz cross-checked MacKinnon and DIDN’T get a penalty,” they captioned, and the replies blew up hotter than playoff overtime.
One fan even said it best: “Cross checked him on his brain stem, yet no call! ” And honestly? Whether you bleed Stars green, Avalanche blue, or just live for chaos; everyone collectively lost their minds over the no-call circus. But wait; ref drama didn’t stop in Dallas. Over in Panthers vs Lightning land, Aaron Ekblad turned the intensity up to WWE mode. Dude dropped a full-blown elbow on Brandon Hagel’s head in the second period, and again, the refs might as well have been napping. Florida still grabbed a 4-2 win to lead the series 3-1, but fans? Fully unhinged. Even ESPN’s P.K. Subban had to laugh through the madness, posting, “Dude, look where the ref is. The fans are going to want to hang that guy upside down,” before calling it exactly what it was; “a headshot.” So like… could that have been a lucky charm for Dallas Stars?
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