Mikko Rantanen sends Avalanche home with legendary Game 7: “What you witnessed there was special”

DALLAS It wasn t a handshake line at the end of this remarkable seven-game series for Mikko Rantanen It was a hug line Rantanen has had a multitude of incredible postseason performances in his NHL career This was maybe his best and it came at the expense of his friends After he nearly tore out the hearts of the Colorado Avalanche with a four-point period in Championship he did it again Only this time it was the third period of Tournament Rantanen erased a two-goal deficit by scoring a hat trick and assisting on another in a - win for the Dallas Stars It s emotional They re my brothers for sure Rantanen announced Preponderance of them I know really well and played with them for years A couple of guys have been there since Day Nathan MacKinnon and Gabe Landeskog We re enemies this series on the ice but I inevitably love them off the ice Between games day off I love every one one of them And then when we go on the ice they re enemies But that s how it goes Yeah it s emotional for sure One hundred days ago Rantanen woke up as a member of the Avalanche He got on the charter plane with his teammates and went to Boston That night he walked down the hall in the association hotel to find out he had been traded to the Carolina Hurricanes Six weeks later he was traded again this time to Colorado s biggest rival He signed an eight-year million contract that starts next season Four games into this series the Avs had done a great job of containing their old pal Then the guy known as Moose well he got loose Three points in Championship Four in Encounter Four in Tournament He took over the series the last three four games Stars coach Pete DeBoer announced He just decided that we were not going to go home and we were not going to lose What you witnessed there was special This is the best league in the world against one of the top five teams in the world and what he did there down the stretch was special When Rantanen and his new center Roope Hintz both tied an NHL playoff record with four points in a period in Championship it brought the Stars back from down - to take a - lead with minutes to go The Avs were stunned but they rallied for a - triumph to force this Encounter There was no rally to be had from this Rantanen rampage He scored with remaining in the third on a great shot from the between the circles He scored again after collecting the puck in the neutral zone barreling past defenseman Ryan Lindgren and putting a wraparound attempt off Samuel Girard and in He and fellow ex-Avs star Matt Duchene set up Wyatt Johnston s series-winner with remaining Then he got the party started a limited seconds early with an empty-net goal At least one Stars fan in the lower level at American Airlines Center launched a hat toward the ice while the puck was still on his stick That s the thing with Mikko it s not about reliably just creating multiple chances like every time he touches the puck but the big moments Avs coach Jared Bednar noted Look at that first goal pretty nice individual effort rips it off the bar down Finds a way to get the other one on the wrap around Hits our skate but it s still a high-quality play and he capitalizes on it He s a pure goal scorer He did that in the third Related Articles Keeler Denver fans evidenced up exhibited out for Nuggets Avalanche Battle s Never root against us Mikko Rantanen s hat trick dooms Avalanche in brutal Championship loss Avalanche-Stars Match slapshots Colorado collapse in Dallas could leave mark that lasts decades As Battle beckons Avalanche s respect for Mikko Rantanen has not wavered Avalanche vs Stars Tournament Four keys for Colorado to advance to second round Rantanen had goals and points in playoff games for the Avalanche He is sixth all time in points per battle in the postseason fourth among ongoing players behind Connor McDavid Leon Draisaitl and MacKinnon There will be no more online chatter about Rantanen s ability to produce away from MacKinnon after this series He leads the Stanley Cup Playoffs with points one more than MacKinnon and McDavid Obviously the feeling is incredible Rantanen announced To win a series first of all against a really good crew The series was exactly what I expected you know I expected a seven-game series even before Championship Like I mentioned before when I got traded it s business I don t know about revenge I m just happy to win against another gang in the playoffs It doesn t matter who it is So I m just happy to be on the winning side and move on here Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis