Rantanen Finishes the Hat Trick in Overtime as Stars Edge Bruins 3-2
Mikko Rantanen scored all three Dallas goals, capping his 11th career hat trick with a power-play backhand in overtime that ended Boston's five-game winning streak.
Boston did almost everything required to leave Dallas with two points on Tuesday night — held the Stars to two shots on goal in the third period, blocked 22 shots, led twice. What the Bruins could not do was solve Mikko Rantanen, who scored all three Dallas goals in a 3-2 overtime win at American Airlines Center, finishing it at 3:52 of the extra period with a power-play backhand to the glove side off a Miro Heiskanen feed.
It was Rantanen's 11th career hat trick and career goal No. 321, and per NHL.com's recap it made him one of only 15 players in NHL history with multiple overtime hat tricks.
Boston led twice — and couldn't close
Rookie Matthew Poitras opened it just 2:09 in, one-timing a cross-ice pass from Frederic Brunet, and after Rantanen tied it early in the second off a rebound of a Jason Robertson chance, James Hagens restored the Bruins' lead at 7:30 of the middle frame, redirecting a Casey Mittelstadt setup past Jake Oettinger.
The equalizer came off a strange bounce: at 13:38 of the third, a Charlie McAvoy block of a Roope Hintz shot deflected straight to Rantanen in the right circle, and he snapped it home. "Big goals," was Stars coach Glen Gulutzan's summary — Rantanen "came up big."
What it means
Dallas (5-3-1) has won three straight and got a winning performance from Oettinger (18 saves) on a night the Stars were outworked for long stretches. Boston (7-2-1) saw its five-game winning streak end but still closed a four-game road trip at 3-0-1 — "the best trip ever," in goalie Jeremy Swayman's (22 saves) words, per 98.5 The Sports Hub. Coach Marco Sturm said his team "deserved definitely a point," and on the balance of play it was hard to argue.