There have been few better weekends of hockey than the one we all just experienced a couple of days ago. Two Game 7s with the eventual winners being down by two goals in the third period and coming back in historic and memorable fashion. To add to the intrigue, both of those winners will be playing each other in Round 2, as the Dallas Stars head to Winnipeg to take on the Jets in Game 1 on Wednesday.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Stars’ 4-2 Comeback Win in Game 7
Before that, let’s take one more look at the incredible Game 7 that we witnessed on Saturday night between the Stars and Colorado Avalanche and what it means for the Stars. Obviously, it means that they move on to the second round. However, when you watch it over again, there was glimpses of the entire series that were encapsulated throughout Game 7.
With Round 2 just ahead, there will be a lot of coverage and attention paid to it, don’t worry. But that insane ride we were taken on over the weekend deserves one last look back.
Stars Didn’t Have the Lead Until it Mattered the Most
Heading into Game 5, the series was tied 2-2. The only lead the Stars had up until that point was in Game 3, and it lasted only 62 seconds. Four games, two wins, and only 62 seconds playing with the lead. That’s pretty hard to do, but that’s what the Stars had done, and that’s exactly what took place in Game 7. Wyatt Johnston scored the 3-2 goal at 16:04 of the third period, which means the Stars only led for three minutes and 56 seconds. Just like in Games 2 and 3, they couldn’t get the lead quite when they wanted to, but they got it at the right time.
In Games 1 and 4, the Avalanche controlled the play for the most part, and they came away with multi-goal victories. In Games 2 and 3, the Stars played slower and methodically, and it ended up paying off in overtime. In Game 7, that was the game plan for the Stars, and it was going to script despite being down 1-0 going into the final 20 minutes. The Avalanche excel when the game is fast-paced and physical, so even though the Stars were trailing, the game was going the way it needed to.
When Nathan MacKinnon gave the Avalanche a 2-0 lead 31 seconds into the third, the Stars didn’t change the way they were playing at all. They kept the pace slow and methodical, and it wasn’t until Mikko Rantanen put the Stars on the board at 7:49 that things started to fall into place. That, to me, is where Game 5 comes into play in this analogy. The Stars scored just nine seconds into the game, and went on to win 6-2. They did their best to stick to the game plan for four games, and when the time was right, things broke their way and the floodgates opened.
Cale Makar’s tripping penalty at 12:02 of the third period was the Game 7 version of the floodgates opening. Rantanen, fresh off the 2-1 goal, continued to take over the game and tied it at 2-2 while on the power play. At 15:47, the Stars went on the power play again, this time thanks to a holding call on Jack Drury. Johnston scored, and the rest is, as they say, history.
In the series and in Game 7, the Stars stuck to their game plan. No matter the way the game was playing out, no matter the adversity, they didn’t panic and change who they were. They held firm to who they are, and they found a way to win.
Special Teams were Special at the Right Time
Before Game 7, the Stars were seventh in the NHL with a 26.3% power play success rate in the playoffs. The Avalanche were 14th at 15.8%. On the penalty kill, the Stars were third at 84.2% and the Avalanche were 10th at 73.7%. If you saw those numbers and the only game you saw was Game 7, you would nod your head and think all of that made sense.
The Stars had to kill off a double minor halfway through the first period, and a tripping call on Matt Duchene halfway through the third, and did both perfectly. On the power play, it was a rougher story. The Stars had an early power play thanks to a Parker Kelly holding call, and couldn’t put the puck in the net. Halfway through the second period, Sam Malinski took an interference penalty for Colorado, and the Avalanche ended up scoring shorthanded to break the 0-0 tie. Again, the Stars could not capitalize on their opportunities. At least, not until it mattered the most.
After Rantanen put the Stars on the board, Duchene took a tripping penalty to put the Avalanche on the power play. That opportunity was erased a minute later with the aforementioned Makar penalty. With that penalty winding down, Rantanen evened the game up at 2-2. Two minutes later, the Stars were on the power play again, and again, the Stars took advantage.
That was the story of the whole series for Dallas. For a lot of the series, the Avalanche were the better team or the teams were even. When it mattered the most, the Stars rose to the occasion and took the game over. Watching that third period unfold, I couldn’t help but look back and compare it to the series as a whole.
Rantanen Finally Broke Out for the Stars
Finally, to the storyline everyone has been obsessed over and rightfully so. It’s been one that has gone on much longer than just the last week, but it certainly came to its climax on Saturday night.
On Jan. 25, the Avalanche traded Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes. There’s debate as to what all the details were leading up to his being traded, but we’re not going to get into all of that here. On March 7, the 2025 Trade Deadline, the Hurricanes traded Rantanen to the Dallas Stars in exchange for promising rookie, Logan Stankoven, and a couple of first-round draft picks. The Stars promptly signed him to an eight-year extension, so obviously this was done with the long term in mind. However, whether it was this year or in the decade to come, Rantanen was brought in for this moment right now, the playoffs.
Rantanen had 32 goals and 88 points in 82 games this season, but with Dallas, he had five goals and 18 points. That’s almost a point-per-game, but still, Stars fans were disappointed and worried that he wasn’t doing enough. Then came the playoffs, where he and the rest of the Stars’ offense were relatively quiet through four games. Tyler Seguin’s game-winner in overtime in Game 3 was solely made possible by Rantanen creating a turnover at his own blue line, but still, the points weren’t there.
Then, in Game 6, the Rantanen Dallas ordered broke onto the scene in a massive way as he put up four points in the second period to give the Stars a 4-3 lead going into the third period with a chance to eliminate the Avalanche. It didn’t pan out that way, but there was still incredible encouragement that their deadline acquisition finally made his mark on this series.
By now, we all know what happened in Game 7. Rantanen was quiet offensively for the first six games of the playoffs, and it worked out that way in Game 7 as well. For the first 48 minutes of hockey, he wasn’t able to do a lot, and the Stars in general weren’t able to dictate play offensively at all. After he scored the goal to make it 2-1, he literally took over the game in a way that only superstars are capable of. On his second goal, he broke through a wall of three Avalanche defenders and willed his way to a game-tying goal. On Johnston’s game-winner, Rantanen who set up Duchene with the opportunity to slide the puck across the crease to Johnston. With Colorado’s net empty, Rantanen who jumped on a loose puck in the neutral zone and scored the empty-netter.
The empty-netter was meaningless since it was scored with three seconds left on the clock. But, at the same time, it meant everything. Rantanen was the one who took over the game after being down 2-0 and Rantanen was the one who put the nail in the coffin against his former team. To take the Stars out of the story for a moment, this was a perfect ending for the drama that Rantanen has gone through since Jan. 25. If the Stars go on to win the Stanley Cup, it will be number 96’s dramatic Game 7 performance that will be seen as the launching point for an incredible run.
Off to Winnipeg
There are plenty of other storylines to dive into from Game 7. Jake Oettinger was as terrific as he was all series long. Duchene was held out of the goal column all series, but played a massive part in the game-winner. Seguin came back from having surgery in December to score a few goals in the series and clear the puck for Rantanen on the final goal of the series. The offense held its own without Jason Robertson, and the defense held its own without Miro Heiskanen. We could go on and on.
But we won’t, because the Stars are heading north to take on the Winnipeg Jets in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Jets are coming off their own heroics in their Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues, and storylines are aplenty coming into this series too. It’s all starting on Wednesday, so make sure to come back for great coverage of this and every series this postseason.
