If anyone expected a Finnish player on the Dallas Stars to score a hat trick in Game 4, it probably would not have been Mikael Granlund.
Alas, the *other* Finnish mid-season acquisition scored his second, third and fourth goals of the postseason to propel Dallas to a 3-1 win and a 3-1 series lead Tuesday night.
Mikko Rantanen, the Finn with the other two hat tricks of the postseason for Dallas, added an assist and Miro Heiskanen added an assist on the final goal in his long-awaited return.
Heiskanen had been out with a knee injury since late January, when Mark Stone hit him low in a 4-3 overtime win in Vegas. He played just over 14 minutes, well below his usual ice time when healthy, but a solid number to finish with after only logging four minutes in the first period.
Heiskanen ramped up his return, playing mostly every-other shift and taking the reigns of the second unit power play. That is where he recorded the assist on Granlund's hat trick goal.
It wasn't the strongest game for Dallas, who got severely out-shot, but Jake Oettinger was the better US goaltender for the night, posting 31 saves on 32 Winnipeg shots. Connor Hellebuyck made only 21 saves on 24 shots for the Jets.
Hellebuyck would want the first Dallas goal back, as Granlund weaved through the defense by himself on the power play and ripped a long wrist shot that ate Hellebuyck up on the glove side and gave Dallas a 1-0 lead in the first period.
Winnipeg tied the game at the very end of a Tyler Seguin penalty, and right as Seguin came out of the box, Nikolaj Ehlers fired a shot from below the dot that ricocheted in off the inside of Oettinger's pad.
The Jets dominated the second period, but on the first high-danger opportunity of the period, Granlund and Rantanen went down the ice in a 2-on-1 and Granlund sniped the puck high glove to take the lead going into the third period.
Winnipeg pushed, but Granlund completed the hat trick with only three seconds remaining in a double minor penalty to Haydn Fleury. Matt Duchene hit the post, but the rebound came to Heiskanen, who swiftly passed it to the right flank where Granlund took a one-time slap shot that beat Hellebuyck up top for a 3-1 lead.
Dallas survived a late Jamie Benn penalty and killed out the remainder of the game while Winnipeg had the goalie pulled for the extra attacker for the 3-1 win.
Now, the Stars have a chance to close things out in Winnipeg on Thursday night in Game 5, and the Jets will be fighting for their life in front of their home crowd.
Puck drop is at 8:30 p.m. CDT on Thursday night.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
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