Mikko Rantanen was ejected for the second time in three games this season, and this time, it was while the Dallas Stars faced off against the Calgary Flames. Late in the second period, Rantanen hit Matt Coronato from behind and received a five-minute major and a game misconduct. Coronato crashed into the board and skated off while bent over.
Coronato was not on the bench when the third period started, but he did return to the game with his nose stitched up. After the game, head coach Ryan Huska shared his thoughts on Rantanen's hit.
“I thought it was a terrible hit. Didn’t we just see that on TV? I didn’t think it was a good hit at all,” Huska said.
Mikko Rantanen has been ejected AGAIN this time for a hit from behind on Matt Coronato 😬🤕 pic.twitter.com/fxrEj6GNMF
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) November 23, 2025
Rantanen received a boarding major and a game misconduct for hitting Alexander Romanov from the New York Islanders on Nov. 18. After that situation, Rantanen spoke about the hit and expressed his remorse. At the time, he said he reached out to Romanov to apologize, but hadn't gotten a response from him.
“Never meant to do that, never done that my whole career,” Rantanen said. “I've played hard but never tried to be dirty on purpose. Unfortunate moment, but never meant to do it.
“I've never done it if I don't get touched to just bury a dude from behind. I have never done it, so I would never do it. It happened quickly when he fell forward. Unfortunately, I pushed him, but hopefully he's not doing too badly, and I wish him all the best.”
Rantanen was not disciplined for the hit on Romanov, and it will be interesting to see what the league ends up doing in this situation since he's a repeat offender. Not only is he a repeat offender, but it wasn't too long ago since he laid a hit like that.







