<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Dallas Stars fans cheer as their team\u2019s starters are announced before an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston (53) can\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Dallas Stars fans sing along to \u201cFriends in Low Places\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) is pushed backward into the net by Dallas Stars defenseman Lian Bichsel (6) and center Oskar B\u00e4ck (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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Colorado and Dallas will play more scintillating games than\u00a0Saturday\u2019s 2-0 Avalanche victory<\/a> when the Stanley Cup playoffs<\/a> commence in two weeks. While both teams have aspirations that go way beyond just qualifying for the postseason, it should not be taken lightly.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Florida Panthers have won the last two Cups and played in the last three Finals. They\u00a0aren\u2019t going to the playoffs.<\/p>\n Winnipeg won the Presidents\u2019 Trophy last spring before being eliminated in the second round\u00a0by the Stars<\/a>. The Jets are probably going to miss the playoffs.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s playoff spot to avoid missing the postseason 10 years in a row. If that can happen in Hockeytown, it can happen anywhere.<\/p>\n Make Dallas News a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n In the Stars\u2019 case, their 2-0 loss virtually assures that they will not catch Colorado, although that\u00a0was highly unlikely even with a victory Saturday afternoon. The Dallas-Minnesota first round\u00a0battle royale has been in the cards for at least four months. On the weekend of April 18-19,\u00a0those games will begin as the Stars attempt to reach the Western Conference finals for the\u00a0fourth straight year and, of course, go one step beyond.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n READ MORE: Dallas Stars playoff tracker: They’re in, but who will their first-round matchup be?<\/a><\/p>\n There\u2019s plenty to like about this team despite its recent skid that came at the climax of a historic\u00a010-game winning streak. And the main thing to like above all others?<\/p>\n Mikko Rantanen<\/a> is ready to go.<\/p>\n For 15 games coming out of the Winter Olympics break, the Stars dealt with life without\u00a0Rantanen, who had suffered a lower body injury in the bronze medal game playing for Team\u00a0Finland. Dallas was hot enough that the club extended its winning streak without him, but in the\u00a0last six games in which Mikko was sidelined, the Stars went 1-4-1.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Even with a loss Saturday, the team looks like it has its act together, like the streak that\u00a0included uncharacteristic defeats like 6-3 to Utah<\/a> and 6-4 to New Jersey<\/a>, is a thing of the past. Rantanen didn\u2019t 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\u00a0his game where it needs to be, which is precisely what carried Dallas through the first two\u00a0rounds a year ago.<\/p>\n In case you forgot,\u00a0Rantanen 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s a bit\u00a0overly simplistic, perhaps a little mindless to reduce hockey to a one-man sport at any\u00a0level, let alone the highest the sport has to offer. Wyatt Johnston<\/a> leads the team in goals, Jason\u00a0Robertson<\/a> leads the Stars in scoring, Miro Heiskanen<\/a> and Thomas Harley<\/a> anchor one of the\u00a0better D-man groups in the league and Jake Oettinger<\/a> has another 30 wins under his belt. Glen\u00a0Gulutzan<\/a> has brought a steadiness to the club without easing up too much on the reins in the\u00a0wake of Pete DeBoer\u2019s departure. There are 102 reasons (Dallas\u2019 point total, tied with Carolina They hope that goes on to June.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s news<\/a> that\u00a0Gulutzan expects not just Roope Hintz but all the injured forwards (Radek\u00a0Faksa, Sam Steel) back on the ice for the start of the playoffs is the news that fans need to\u00a0hear. And Mikko \u2014 now the beloved \u201cMoose\u201d to Dallas fans after barely one year since GM Jim\u00a0Nill\u2019s game-changing trade with Carolina \u2014 is the man to monitor.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Glen Gulutzan says Stars could have ‘complete lineup’ available by regular season’s last game<\/a><\/p>\n Even if\u00a0Gulutzan indicated he has \u201calmost 100 percent\u201d belief that Hintz will be on hand for\u00a0Game 1, he\u2019s not likely to play at 100 percent of his normal level. If someone is equipped to pick\u00a0up the slack on the top line and get Dallas started on its way to a new level of playoff glory, it\u2019s\u00a0Rantanen.<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before the Olympics paused the season and put\u00a0Rantanen\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
for 2nd best in the NHL) to consider the Stars are a force to contend with in April and May.<\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775031754_150_rawImage.jpg\" "\\"#\\"")
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