“The moose is on the loose.”
He may not be in Denver anymore, but the nickname still fits.
Dallas Stars superstar Mikko Rantanen has done it again. He single-handedly won the Stars' first-round series against his former team, and now he has propelled them to a Game 1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets to open the second round.
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Indeed, the moose is on the loose.
Rantanen recorded another hat trick, this time in 19:08 of playing time. He also fired five shots on net and blocked two shots in the 3-2 victory. But the way that he did it will turn heads.
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LIVE BLOG: Stars Look To Gain Advantage In Game 1 vs. Jets
The Stars and Winnipeg Jets will do battle in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after both clinching their previous playoff series in thrilling Game 7's. The Stars aim to keep up their scoring ways, as they notched four unanswered goals in the third period in the series finale. Dallas will look to also turn the tables on the Jets, as they fell short in three of the four regular season matchups.
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Upward and onward.
A First In Dallas Stars History
No one has ever had a natural hat trick in a playoff game for the Stars…until now. Rantanen scored at 8:43, 14:21, and 16:38 of the second period.
Additionally, he joins Joe Pavelski and Dino Ciccarelli as one of three Stars/North Stars players to ever record multiple three-goal performances during the playoffs at any point of their career.
Rantanen now leads the NHL playoff scoring race with eight goals and 15 points. The next closest in points is Connor McDavid with 13.
The Stars play again on Friday night. Time will tell if more records are waiting to be broken at that time.
Now that the moose is loose, there is no telling what will happen.
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