The Dallas Stars have defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 4-2, to win Game 7 and advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Down two goals in the third period, the Stars staged an incredible rally to pull out the win.
After Nathan MacKinnon gave the Avalanche a 2-0 lead early in the third period, the Stars began their comeback with Mikko Rantanen leading the way. The former Colorado star scored two straight goals to tie the game at 2, and he gave the Stars the spark they so desperately needed.
With just over four minutes left in the game, the Stars got a power play with a chance to take the lead, and they seized the opportunity. Matt Duchene found Wyatt Johnston with a perfect cross-ice pass at the top of the crease, and Johnston buried a one-timer past Mackenzie Blackwood.
To cap off what will go down as an iconic performance against his former team, Rantanen scored the empty net goal to seal the win and the hat trick.
Dallas coach Pete DeBoer is now 9-0 all-time in Game 7s, and he also takes sole possession of the record for most Game 7 wins by any coach in NHL history. Meanwhile, the Avalanche's Game 7 losing streak extends to seven. The Stars will face the winner of Sunday's Game 7 between the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues.
As the Stars roll into the second round, here are a few observations from this thrilling conclusion to a phenomenal series.
In the world of revenge in sports, this performance from Mikko Rantanen immediately shoots up the all-time list. Midway through the season, Colorado decided it didn't want to meet Rantanen's asking price on a contract extension, so the team sent him to the Carolina Hurricanes for Martin Necas.
At the trade deadline, the Hurricanes flipped the 28-year-old winger to the Stars and set up this grudge match. For a while, it seemed like the Avs would get the last laugh, but Rantanen took over Game 7 in the third period. The former Colorado star tied the game with two consecutive goals, and he completed the hat trick with an empty-net tally to add embarrassment to elimination.
Oh, and he also assisted on Wyatt Johnston's game-winning goal late in the period.
As Rantanen lit up the Avalanche and squashed their Stanley Cup hopes, one can only wonder what was running through the mind of Joe Sakic, Colorado's president of hockey operations. His decision to deal Rantanen backfired in 2025, but will it continue to haunt him for years to come?
On the whole, the Stars have to be flying high after beating the Avalanche. There's a non-zero chance that this is the toughest opponent Dallas faces all postseason, so the team has already passed one major test.
To make the outlook even rosier for the Stars, they were able to get past the Avs without Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson. Heiskanen is an elite defenseman and the team's best player, and Robertson is capable of scoring goals in bunches. Dallas had its depth tested in a major way, and it passed with flying colors.
Now, with Heiskanen and Robertson nearing a return, the Stars will be riding high into the second round.
One Stanley Cup contender was always going to feel the gut punch of an early exit at the end of this series, but the way it ended makes it even more painful for the Avalanche. Colorado saw its multi-goal lead melt away, and one of its former stars did the melting.
The Avalanche have now lost seven straight Game 7s with many of them coming in truly devastating fashion. Behind the bench, Jared Bednar's Game 7 record drops to 0-4. Nathan MacKinnon's career record in these games dips to 0-5. It's tough to explain those results given how much talent the team has, and Colorado will have a long offseason to think about it.
Since the Stanley Cup win in 2022, the Avalanche have won just one playoff series and lost two Game 7s in the process. With MacKinnon and Cale Makar at the height of their primes, Colorado has to find a way to get back over the playoff hump for another deep run.
What an all-time performance by Mikko Rantanen. In a do-or-die third period against his former team, Rantanen posted three goals and an assist to power the Stars to a comeback win in Game 7. It just doesn't get any better than that. For the Avalanche, there could be no worse way to lose this game, and it's going to be a long offseason in Denver.
Almost immediately, the Dallas power play gets set up, and Matt Duchene fires a cross-ice pass to Wyatt Johnston, who buries a shot from a tough angle. What a rally by the Stars. The Avalanche have imploded, but they have about three minutes to compose themselves and get the game tied again.
With just over four minutes left, Jack Drury gets called for holding to put the Stars on the power play. Off the faceoff, Drury hauls down Tyler Seguin, and Dallas has the chance to take its first lead in the dying moments of regulation.
Mikko Rantanen does it again. Wow. One the power play, Rantanen buzzes into the Avalanche zone with speed, pulls Blackwood out of the net, and banks a wraparound shot in off Sam Girard's skate. The game is tied, the arena is on fire, and the Stars have all the momentum. Dallas needed someone to answer the bell and the former Avalanche star has put the team on his back.
Cale Makar's stick breaks on a one-timer attempt, and he trips Roope Hintz with his skate on the ensuing scoring chance. Meanwhile, Martin Necas blows a tire and goes into the boards awkwardly on the backcheck. Not ideal for Colorado in a hostile environment.
The Stars are finally able to create a quality chance off the rush, and it's Mikko Rantanen burning his former team. Coming across the blue line, Sam Steel weaved in front of Rantanen and created space. The former Av walked in and buried a perfect shot off the pipe and in to give Dallas some life. American Airlines Center has been ignited. Buckle up.
Dallas has just under 14 minutes left to keep its season alive, and its offense has gone silent. Even without Jason Robertson in the lineup, the Stars have plenty of firepower to come back in this game. The problem is that they're about to get a very heavy dose of Cale Makar and Devon Toews the rest of the way.
Who else? Nathan MacKinnon doubles the Avalanche lead just 31 second into the third period. With a delayed penalty against the Stars, MacKinnon drove the net around Wyatt Johnson and tucked a shot past Jake Oettinger on the short side. Oettinger has been great all series, but that was a tough one to give up.
Peter DeBoer's perfect 8-0 record in Game 7s is in jeopardy with the Stars trailing 1-0 at the second intermission. On the other side, Jared Bednar is staring down the barrel of his first Game 7 win as an NHL coach. The same can be said for Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon, who is 0-4 in Game 7s in his career,
Just as everyone predicted, Josh Manson's offense is the difference in that game. His shorthanded goal gave the Avalanche the lead, and now they're 20 minutes away from moving on. This last period will be the most difficult because this loaded Stars roster won't go down without a fight.
Since that Manson goal gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead, they have been in control of this game. Colorado has spent a lot of time in the Dallas zone, and that fourth line continues to put heat on the Stars with a tenacious forecheck. After the latest stoppage in front of Oettinger, the two sides exchanged pleasantries and face washes as things got a little heated.
With the Avalanche shorthanded, Logan O'Connor used his speed to skate the puck into the Dallas zone, and he found defenseman Josh Manson trailing him on the rush. The Stars were late getting back to cover Manson, and he beat Oettinger with a shot just inside the post.
The Stars are starting to attack off the rush, which is their bread and butter. Roope Hintz just drew a penalty by entering the Colorado zone with speed. Sam Malinski will sit for interference, and the Stars will get their second man advantage opportunity of the game.
Just as I typed that the pace was starting to increase, the Avs turn the puck over in their own zone, and Mikael Granlund found himself all alone with Mackenzie Blackwood. Granlund tried to wait out Blackwood, but the Colorado goaltender hung with him the whole way to make a huge save.
The second period is also off to a quiet start, although it does feel like the pace is starting to pick up. The Avalanche's fourth line just created a nice scoring chance off the rush, and they got in on the forecheck and created some havoc in the Dallas end. Maybe that was the spark the Avs have been looking for.
The first period was very low-event, especially at five-on-five. According to Natural Stat Trick, the teams combined for four shots, one high-danger scoring chance and 0.41 expected goals. If the game continues this way, it probably gives the Stars a slight edge. The way Jake Oettinger has been playing, they may not mind waiting to see which goalie blinks first.
Neither team wants to give an inch in this one, and that resulted in a low-event period that ended in a 0-0 tie. Both sides had power play opportunities, but the penalty kill units turned in impressive efforts. We'll see if the offensive skill starts to show through a little bit more as the intensity ramps up.
Unlike Game 6, this game is off to a much slower start in terms of pace and scoring chances. Neither team wants to make a critical mistake, and that has led to eight total shots through almost 17 minutes. These teams have the offensive skill to open things up, but we'll see how many risks they're willing to take.
The Avalanche got their first power play just moments after they killed off the Stars' man advantage. This one was a double-minor with Jamie Benn sitting in the box for four minutes, but the Stars' penalty kill and Jake Oettinger stood tall. Much of the power play was relatively quiet, but the Avs got a flurry of chances toward the end. They just couldn't sneak one past Oettinger.
After an early push by the Avalanche, Parker Kelly takes an ill-advised offensive zone holding penalty against Ilya Lyubushkin. Luckily for Kelly, the Colorado penalty kill bailed him out with an excellent defensive effort. The Avs' special teams have been pedestrian in this series, so that was a big kill.
The puck is down on Game 7 between the Stars and Avs. Let's all hope for a little more chaos before this fantastic series comes to a close.
This is the 199th Game 7 in NHL history, and it should be a doozy. These two teams don't get more evenly matched, and they're a couple of juggernauts. Sit back and follow along as we break down what might very well be an all-time NHL playoff classic.
When it comes to the five-on-five game, the Avalanche have gotten the better of the Stars in this series. According to Natural Stat Trick, Colorado has the edge in shot attempts (plus-119), scoring chances (plus-60), high-danger scoring chances (plus-28) and expected goals share (59.9%).
The difference is that the Avs have lagged behind on special teams, and Jake Oettinger has simply outplayed Mackenzie Blackwood. Oettinger has saved 2.77 goals above average, which ranks fifth among all playoff goalies.
Going back to the 2002 Western Conference Final, the Avalanche have lost six straight Game 7s. Their last win came against the San Jose Sharks in the second round of the 2022 playoffs. Colorado has gone agonizingly close on a few different occasions with three of those defeats coming in overtime.
In the 2020 bubble playoffs, the Avalanche and Stars reached Game 7 in the second round. Joel Kiviranta, now a member of the Avs, completed a hat trick with the OT winner to send Dallas through to the conference finals.
Throughout his coaching career, Pete DeBoer is a perfect 8-0 in Game 7s. That also ties hime with Darryl Sutter for the most Game 7 wins among coaches all time. The only difference is that Sutter also lost three Game 7s.
On the other side of the rink, the Avalanche have had their issues closing out series in Game 7. Jared Bednar is 0-3 as a head coach, and Nathan MacKinnon is 0-4 in his career. The last time the Avs played in a Game 7 was in 2023, when they were upset at the hands of the Seattle Kraken.
Puck drop between the Avalanche and Stars is just over one hour away, and it should be an epic finale to a terrific series between two Stanley Cup contenders.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer has already ruled out defenseman Miro Heiskanen and forward Jason Robertson, even though both players skated ahead of this Game 7. The Avalanche aren't dealing with any major absences, but they've still had their hands full with this shorthanded Stars club.
