In Game 6, Rantanen and Roope Hintz made NHL history by becoming the first teammates to score four points in a single period. But that was a footnote in Colorado’s 7-4 win that made Saturday’s Game 7 necessary. So Rantanen sent one better with a hat trick in the final 13 minutes of the game.

Mikko Rantanen scored three goals in the third period, and the Dallas Stars utilized a furious rally to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, defeating the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in Game 7 on Saturday night at American Airlines Center.

The Dallas Stars celebrate after Mikko Rantanen, laying against boards at rear, scored against the Colorado Avalanche’s Mackenzie Blackwood (39) in the third period in Game 7 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)