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Stars defeat Avalanche in the game 7 Thriller, Mikko Rantannen achieves HutTrick: snack bars

Stars defeat Avalanche in the game 7 Thriller, Mikko Rantannen achieves HutTrick: snack bars

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Dallas – and to think, there was about a week in which the entire hockey world wondered whether Mikko Rantannen would appear in this series.

Rantannen scored three goals in the third period-two Hercules-solo efforts and an empty network to delete a two-goal deficit, and also supported Wyatt Johnston's game winner-play goal with 3:56, for the Dallas Stars a remarkable 4: 2 victory in game 7 of this Titanian Errund series against the To give Colorado series against the Colorado series against the Avaladal series. Dallas competes against the winner of Jets-Blues on Sunday evening, while Colorado is shocked home after he has lost his greatest rival for the second time in a row.

Rantannen, who buried the two most shocking shops of the year – first from Colorado to Carolina, then from Carolina to Dallas – his old team. After only one template in the first three games released in the first four games in the first four games, he closed with five goals and six templates in the last three and reminded his old teammates, which she missed without him. His third period was one for eternity.

Life had been sucked out of the American Airlines Center after Nathan Mackinnon had scored his seventh goal of the series with a late punishment in the opening minute of the third period. But at 7:49 a.m. of the third cut strip over the middle of the ice and defeated Mackenzie Blackwood – which had made several brilliant stop – with a sensational snail that sank in a shot from the upper corner of the gate. Six minutes later, Rantannen blew three penalty killers in Colorado and scored with a wrap, using his shot on Samuel Girards Skate. It was a suitable goal for Dallas, in which the Avalanche scored at least three flying goals in the series, including the winner of the game 6, a goal of Sam Steel in front of Colin Blackwell's shoulder.

It will be a long low season for the avalanche, a trendy choice to win the Stanley Cup, even though he took third place in the central division and led her clutch future Hall of Famer, flanting. A dramatic intermediate season overhaul of your roster had given you the depth in the center (Brock Nelson, Charlie Coyle, Jack Drury) and the goalkeeper (Blackwood, Scott Wedgewood), which you had to do to straighten the ship. They were very close that they excluded them after they had kept their season alive with a victory in game 6 at home, but instead they will wonder what could have been.

The stars are now set up for a deep run. They managed to beat the mighty avalanche without her top defender Miro Hiskanen and one of her best goal scorers, Jason Robertson. Both drove with the team Skaten and could return to Winnipeg or St. Louis in the second round.

AVS waste early chance

Both teams mostly had this series under control, with very few extracurricular, as in the Tampa Florida series. But Jamie Benn made a potentially catastrophic mistake when he checked Valeri Nichushkin in the middle of the first period. He got a well -deserved double mining minor (would be difficult to argue with a major) and brought the stars early in the game at a difficult point.

But the penalty of the stars stuck. It was not easy because Johnston had to save a goal by broke a Martin Necas Cross-Goalmouth Pass on a wide open Gabriel Landeskog, but Colorado was empty. Just like in game 3 when Mason Marchment got a double mint for a high sticking Nelson in the last minute of regulation.

The power play in Colorado was eight in the league in regular season and achieved a clip of 24.8 percent. But it was among the 16 playoff teams with a lean conversion rate of 15.8 percent in game 7 14.

Kill it when killing

The AVS couldn't do it with the power game, but they could be sure that the penalty was kill. After Sam Malinski Malinski Roope Hintz and landed in the penalty area, it was Colorado who confiscated the moment with Josh Manson and scored the first goal of the game.

But it was Logan O'Connor – who else? – Who did it? O'Connor was an absolute threat to all series, especially with the penalty murder. And when Hintz left the puck at the point, after trantant had started to drive along the wall, O'Connor fell on the mistake, grabbed the puck and raced up the left side of the ice. He stopped briefly in the offensive zone and then threw a central pass to a hard -charged Manson. Manson's shot hit the post, then Jake Oettinger hit his back and went in – another strange jump in a series full of you for the star's cake.

It was Manson's second goal in so many games (he had one of the two emptyers in Colorado in game 6). The defensive defender only had one goal throughout the regular season. For O'Connor it was his sixth point in the series that only after Mackinnon for the avalanche. He had his own short goal in game 4 and also scored in game 2.

Big names, small production

Apart from a dizzying second period in game 6, when rantons and Hintz combined for 8 points, some of the biggest names in Dallas did not really get through in this series. Rantannen ended with 12 points (five goals, seven templates) against his old team, and Hintz had four goals and three templates. Johnston had three goals and four templates in a solid effort.

But Matt Düchene, the leading goal scorer of the stars in the regular season with 82 points in 82 games, had no goals and three template observations-the last one was a poor that Johnston's go-a-haeAD gate was with a cross-creed feed. Mikael Granlund, another lively trading acquisition, had a goal and a template. Marchment, a scorer with 22 goals, had a goal and two templates, and Tyler Seguin had two goals and two templates after working back from the hip operation.

Colorado also had many overwhelming producers. Cale Makar, the favorite with 30 goals Norris, had only one goal, an empty networker. Nelson, the largest acquisition of the AVS period of the AVS, did not hit the series. And Necas had four templates, but only one goal. Even Mackinnon, who tied a franchise record with seven goals in a series, was not enough to overcome this.

Hotic not entirely ready

Heiskanen's potential return was a discussion point every day of this series, which was raised every day at every press conference by Pete Deboer. Heikans ran through the entire series, returned to the team early and morning ice skates and even turned into the power play in the last phases. But he never returned and internally the stars did not hold their breath or came to the ice rink every day and wondered whether this was the day came back to the Heikanen to save them.

“No, we don't want to put him under too much pressure,” said Rookie Lian Bichsel. “He has to go through his rehab, he has to be 100 percent to come back. We just have to be patient with him.”

Bichsel said that hekans were “really positive” despite the obvious frustrations that go hand in hand with Playoff games. Meanwhile, Deboer said that the call was never primarily. After all, three months marked on Sunday after Heikanen's operation, and the initial forecast was three to four months.

“I mean there is really no decision,” he said before game 7. “It is not a decision of a player. There are a doctor involved, people have to sign up with things. If he plays here in the near future, he will be the deadlines that were given to him in the operation in which he is going. Close. But that is different than in a hockey game with a full contact game 7.”

Heikans and Robertson – Dallas' Top Defenders and one of his top strikers – both came close, but not quite close enough.

“We just have to win games so that they can come back,” said Bichsel. “We work for (Heiskans) for Robo, for all boys who are on the go so they have the chance to play.”

Bichsel about creepy hit: “Wasn't that bad”

The hockey world feared the worst when Bichsel was motionless on the ice in game 6 at the beginning of the second half after falling into the boards when he fought against Drury for the puck.

Bichsel's return for the third period was just as shocking.

Speak to The athlete After the morning skate on Saturday, Bichsel said that he was “okay” and had the injury or the absence of it down.

“Fell, was hit, got up again and played the third period,” he said. “Wasn't that bad.”

Of course, between “strokes” and “again up up” were a few minutes when Bichsel did not move.

“I just had to breathe in,” he said.

So then he had only knocked the wind out of him?

“I couldn't really say it,” he said. “I was only confused at the beginning. Once (star head athletic coach Dave Zeis) came over, we only went through some routine movements for my neck and my things. Everything was good. So I got up.”

“Confused” is of course a word in a time of consciousness for the awareness of the brain. Bichsel slowly moved and needed help to get out of the ice, but he said he felt “good” when he was back in the changing room, probably in quiet space (he refused to go into details).

“I just had to take air,” he said. “We tested some and I was good to go.”

(Photo: Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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