DALLAS — Mikko Rantanen was brought to Dallas to tilt a playoff series, the kind of series-changing force the Stars believed they were buying when they sent two first-round draft picks and Logan Stankoven to Carolina and signed him to an eight-year contract at $12 million per year.
Five games into this first-round matchup, the Stars trail the Minnesota Wild 3-2 after a 4-2 loss Tuesday night in Dallas, and Rantanen has one goal and five assists. None of those points has come at even strength. Every one of them has come on the power play or with goaltender Jake Oettinger pulled for an extra attacker.
That gap is why the move matters now, not just eventually. Dallas has been outscored 14-4 at even strength in the series and has gone more than 217 minutes without a five-on-five goal. The Stars have been dangerous on the power play, but they have been beaten in the part of the game that usually decides playoff series.
Rantanen knows what it looks like when he takes over a postseason. Last spring, starting in Game 5 of the Stars’ first-round series against Colorado, he put together a four-game stretch with eight goals and six assists. He scored a one-period hat trick in Game 7 against the Avalanche, then did it again in Game 1 against Winnipeg. Asked about that run later, he said, “Probably back-to-back hat tricks,” before adding, “I didn’t expect that to happen.” He also said, “I guess I was a little surprised, yeah,” when reflecting on the burst.
This series has gone the other way. Rantanen has not recorded a point at even strength through five games, and Michael McCarron has more goals in the series than he does. Dallas has gotten every goal from one of its top five players, which says as much about the Stars’ top-end dependence as it does about the Wild’s ability to smother the middle of the lineup.
That is the friction inside the story. The Stars made a huge bet on a player because they believed he could change a series the way he did last spring. So far, he has helped only when the game has already been tilted by the man advantage or a pulled goalie. Now Dallas has one game left to find the version of five-on-five hockey that has disappeared for more than 217 minutes, or the trade that was supposed to swing a playoff run will be remembered for the cost of missing this one.