The Dallas Stars advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs, beating the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in Game 7.Mikko Rantanen assisted on Wyatt Johnston's tiebreaking power-play goal with 3:56 left before completing a third-period hat trick with an empty-netter as the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in Game 7 on Saturday night to wrap up the first-round Western Conference playoff series.

And to think, there was about a week there where the entire hockey world was wondering if Mikko Rantanen was going to show up in this series. Rantanen scored three third-period goals — two herculean solo efforts and en empty-netter — to erase a two-goal deficit,

Mikko Rantanen scored three goals in the third period, and the Dallas Stars utilized a furious rally to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, defeating the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in Game 7 on Saturday night at American Airlines Center.