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The Dallas Stars will play the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. What was already a strong division rivalry between two Stanley Cup contenders turned up a level at the trade deadline. The Avalanche traded Mikko Rantanen to the Hurricanes after failing to negotiate an extension. When Carolina met the same fate, they dealt him to the Stars. Now, the Finnish forward faces his former team. What are the dream and nightmare scenarios for the Stars in the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
The Stars beat the Avalanche in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. They won Game 6 in Denver in double overtime when Matt Duchene scored his second goal of the series. Who scored the lone goal for Colorado in that game? Why, Mikko Rantanen of course. That was the first time the teams had faced off in the postseason since the 2020 bubble, which Dallas won as well.
The nightmare scenario for the Stars is losing convincingly to the Avalanche in the first round. It is the fault of the NHL's outdated playoff system that they are playing in the first round to begin with. So losing in Game 7 would not be a disaster, considering they are both top-five teams in the West. But if the Avs win in four or five games, it would be disastrous for Dallas.
The Stars have the goaltending advantage, with Jake Oettinger playing in his 48th playoff game in Game 1. MacKenzie Blackwood has never played in a postseason game and will man the cage for the Avalanche. Miro Heiskanen will not play in this series due to injury, so the Stars will be hampered slightly. Meanwhile, Colorado could be getting captain Gabriel Landeskog.
Mikko Rantanen can provide the Stars with their dream scenario
There should be no doubt that Mikko Rantanen will be ready to go for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Avalanche did not give him the extension he wanted and likely ruined his chance to go down in franchise lore. Now, he has the chance to end their season prematurely with his new squad. The rest of the team is good enough to succeed, as proven last year.
The dream scenario for the Stars is winning the Stanley Cup. They have lost in the Cup Final, to the Lightning in the bubble, and in the Western Conference Finals in each of the last two seasons. With Jason Robertson breaking out of his slump in the second half and Rantanen fitting in nicely, they should be potent offensively.
The Stars have a great defense with Heiskanen leading the way. Even without him for the last few weeks, they have been solid in their own end. Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell have stepped up in a big way. The Stars have all of the pieces, a coach in Peter DeBoer who has had playoff success, and a star goalie. The only question is their path, which will be difficult.
If the Stars beat the Avalanche, they would get either the President's Trophy winner Winnipeg Jets, or the Wild Card winner who upsets them. Winnipeg has had playoff struggles, but if they win in the first round, those could be gone. Connor Hellbucyk was excellent in playoff-style games in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Maybe that ended his personal issues in the spring.
The Stars will have a tough path to lifting the Stanley Cup. But their big addition in Mikko Rantanen and a fresh Miro Heiskanen starting in the second round could make it possible for the second time in franchise history. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Saturday.
