20/20: Mikko Rantanen does it again as Stars finally win a Game 1

The Stars did something they hadn't done since the COVID bubble, they won Game 1.

Sorry for the slight delay on the deliver of this, I had a beer league game that coincided with part of Game 1 between the Stars and Jets — we unfortunately tied 4-4 — so I caught the game on my own personal tape delay after getting home.

I had watched first period before my game, drove home and then watched the second period and third period by fast forwarding through all commercials and the intermissions — it’s actually one of the best ways to watch hockey.

And the Stars won 3-2, again thanks to Mikko Rantanen.

Here is the 20/20.

1. This felt like a historic event.

The Dallas Stars actually won Game 1 of a playoff series.

The Stars had lost eight straight Game 1s, dating all the way back to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final in the Edmonton bubble against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Consider the last time the Stars won a Game 1 in front of fans, it was April 10, 2019 against the Nashville Predators.

The fact the Stars have had that type of failure in Game 1s, and still reached back-to-back Western Conference finals is one of the more remarkable things we’ve seen.

2. Of course, the actual historic and remarkable thing, which everyone will remember, is the performance of Mikko Rantanen.

After delivering one of the most clutch Game 7 performances, maybe ever, against his former team in Round 1, Rantanen had a natural hat trick in the second period to continue a hot streak we’ve never seen the likes of in Stanley Cup history.