Dallas Stars right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) fights for the puck along the boards against Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson (42) during the third period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) makes a save against Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston (53) during the first period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars fans cheer as their team’s starters are announced before an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) narrowly misses the net against Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brett Kulak (27), center Martin Necas (88) and goaltender Scott Wedgewood during the first period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14) controls the puck against Colorado Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin (13) during the first period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars center Mavrik Bourque (22) and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns (84) fight for the puck along the boards during the first period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri (91) is checked by Dallas Stars center Matt Duchene (95) during the first period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) and center Wyatt Johnston (53) fight for the puck along the boards against Colorado Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski (70) and center Nathan MacKinnon (29) during the first period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Colorado Avalanche center Ross Colton (20) is wrapped up by Dallas Stars defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin during the second period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Colorado Avalanche center Jack Drury (18) collides with Dallas Stars right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) during the second period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14) tussles with Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) during the second period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) covers up a loose puck as defenseman Esa Lindell (23) works against Colorado Avalanche left wing Joel Kiviranta (94) during the second period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston (53) can’t find the net on a rebound off the stick of Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood during the third period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars fans sing along to “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) is pushed backward into the net by Dallas Stars defenseman Lian Bichsel (6) and center Oskar Bäck (10) after Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) covered up the puck to force a stop in play during the third period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith makes a save during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri (91) falls to the ice as he controls the puck in front of Dallas Stars defenseman Alexander Petrovic (28) during the third period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan watches from the bench during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) makes a saves against Colorado Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski (70) during the third period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski (70) controls the puck against Dallas Stars center Colin Blackwell during the third period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson is pushed into the boards by Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) and center Brock Nelson (11) as they tussle during the third period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Colorado Avalanche center Martin Necas (88) scores past Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) and defenseman Lian Bichsel (6) during the third period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) looks away as Colorado Avalanche center Martin Necas (88) celebrates with left wing Artturi Lehkonen (62) after scoring a goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) scores an empty-net goal past Dallas Stars right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) and defenseman Miro Heiskanen (4) during the third period of an NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Colorado and Dallas will play more scintillating games than Saturday’s 2-0 Avalanche victory when the Stanley Cup playoffs commence in two weeks. While both teams have aspirations that go way beyond just qualifying for the postseason, it should not be taken lightly.
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The Florida Panthers have won the last two Cups and played in the last three Finals. They aren’t going to the playoffs.
Winnipeg won the Presidents’ Trophy last spring before being eliminated in the second round by the Stars. The Jets are probably going to miss the playoffs.
Detroit had the dominant run of the last generation, reaching the playoffs 25 straight times between 1991 and 2016 while winning the Stanley Cup four times. The Red Wings are in a four-way battle for the East’s playoff spot to avoid missing the postseason 10 years in a row. If that can happen in Hockeytown, it can happen anywhere.
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In the Stars’ case, their 2-0 loss virtually assures that they will not catch Colorado, although that was highly unlikely even with a victory Saturday afternoon. The Dallas-Minnesota first round battle royale has been in the cards for at least four months. On the weekend of April 18-19, those games will begin as the Stars attempt to reach the Western Conference finals for the fourth straight year and, of course, go one step beyond.
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READ MORE: Dallas Stars playoff tracker: They’re in, but who will their first-round matchup be?
There’s plenty to like about this team despite its recent skid that came at the climax of a historic 10-game winning streak. And the main thing to like above all others?
Mikko Rantanen is ready to go.
For 15 games coming out of the Winter Olympics break, the Stars dealt with life without Rantanen, who had suffered a lower body injury in the bronze medal game playing for Team Finland. Dallas was hot enough that the club extended its winning streak without him, but in the last six games in which Mikko was sidelined, the Stars went 1-4-1.
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Even with a loss Saturday, the team looks like it has its act together, like the streak that included uncharacteristic defeats like 6-3 to Utah and 6-4 to New Jersey, is a thing of the past. Rantanen didn’t score against his former team (clearly, no one did), but he has had a goal and three assists in five games back from injury. With another five to go before the regular season wraps up in Buffalo on April 15, Rantanen appears to need little more than some fine tuning to get his game where it needs to be, which is precisely what carried Dallas through the first two rounds a year ago.
In case you forgot, Rantanen took control of the tight opening round series with the Avalanche, scoring five goals and three assists in the final three games. That included a record-setting Game 7 third period hat trick that turned a 2-0 Colorado advantage into a 4-2 advancement to the second round for Dallas. He opened with another hat trick in Winnipeg to wrestle any home-ice advantage away from the Jets and popped in another three-pointer in Game 3 (one goal, two assists) as the Stars took a 2-1 lead in a series they would win in six games.
It’s a bit overly simplistic, perhaps a little mindless to reduce hockey to a one-man sport at any level, let alone the highest the sport has to offer. Wyatt Johnston leads the team in goals, Jason Robertson leads the Stars in scoring, Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley anchor one of the better D-man groups in the league and Jake Oettinger has another 30 wins under his belt. Glen Gulutzan has brought a steadiness to the club without easing up too much on the reins in the wake of Pete DeBoer’s departure. There are 102 reasons (Dallas’ point total, tied with Carolina
for 2nd best in the NHL) to consider the Stars are a force to contend with in April and May.
They hope that goes on to June.
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Saturday’s news that Gulutzan expects not just Roope Hintz but all the injured forwards (Radek Faksa, Sam Steel) back on the ice for the start of the playoffs is the news that fans need to hear. And Mikko — now the beloved “Moose” to Dallas fans after barely one year since GM Jim Nill’s game-changing trade with Carolina — is the man to monitor.
READ MORE: Glen Gulutzan says Stars could have ‘complete lineup’ available by regular season’s last game
Even if Gulutzan indicated he has “almost 100 percent” belief that Hintz will be on hand for Game 1, he’s not likely to play at 100 percent of his normal level. If someone is equipped to pick up the slack on the top line and get Dallas started on its way to a new level of playoff glory, it’s Rantanen.
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Before the Olympics paused the season and put Rantanen’s season on hold, he was on his way to a 100-point season and possibly more after reaching 50 points at the second highest pace in club history. If more history is be made, the imposing 6-4 frame of No. 96 is the likely centerpiece.
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