Mikko Rantanen does it himself with hat trick, overtime goal in Stars' win over Boston

The Stars have been desperately searching for offense through their first nine games of the season. 

Offense was already a question after last season’s underwhelming performance in the playoffs. It was even more of a question when the Stars lost Mavrik Bourque in the offseason and Matt Duchene to an injury during training camp. 

It’s been so much of an issue that the Stars went out and signed David Perron to a one-year deal Friday, looking for any depth scoring they could find. 

But in Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime win over the Boston Bruins, Mikko Rantanen showed he’s certainly trying to do his part. 

The Finnish forward scored a hat trick, almost single-handedly lifting the Stars (5-3-1) to victory. Rantanen now leads the Stars in goals (five) and points (11) this season.  

He scored his first goal to tie the game up early in the second period, forcing a Bruins turnover and scoring off his own rebound. 

He added a second with 6:22 remaining in regulation, collecting a loose puck that bounced off players in traffic, tying the game 2-2. 

He scored the third on a power play with 1:08 remaining in overtime after the Stars, and primarily Wyatt Johnston, had missed several prime opportunities earlier in overtime. 

MOOSE. HAT TRICK. GAME. 🫎👒🎩🎓🧢 Stars beat the Bruins in overtime 3-2 and Mikko Rantanen scores 'em all. (Via @DallasStars | #TexasHockey) https://t.co/STrOLVi2Fu

— SportsDay Stars (@dmn_stars) October 21, 2026

Tuesday’s game featured two of the league’s top defensive teams as of late and two of its top goaltenders. The Bruins have 1.6 goals on average in their last five games, and the Stars have allowed 1.4 in that same span.  

Goalies Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman both did their best to keep those numbers down. Swayman posted 22 saves in the loss, while Oettinger finished with 18. Oettinger was challenged early, making several point-blank saves on some of the Bruins’ best scorers, including Morgan Geekie and JJ Peterka. 

But Oettinger didn’t have the group of defenders he’s used to in front of him. Esa Lindell has been ruled out for the next week with a lower-body injury he suffered while blocking a shot against Chicago on Saturday. 

That shook up the Stars’ penalty kill and defensive pairings. Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley skated together, and surprisingly, Dallas’ top pair was on the ice for both Bruins goals Tuesday. 

Just over two minutes into the game, Heiskanen failed to clear a puck, and the Bruins capitalized, with Matthew Poitras scoring on a one-timer from the left circle. 

Early in the second period with the score tied, Harley allowed Casey Mittlestad too much time with the puck, and he found James Hagens, who boxed out Heiskanen for the deflection. 

The top two defensemen also each took a penalty, meaning an already shorthanded Stars penalty kill had to play even shorter. But Dallas’ depth defensemen stepped up, including Tyler Myers, who broke up several key plays. The Stars didn’t allow a goal on four Boston power plays and only allowed three shots on goal.  

The Stars’ power play also cashed in. They had three chances, including one in overtime, where they scored the game-winner. Dallas now sits at 4-for-23 on the season on the man-advantage. 

But the Stars are still searching for more scoring from their top six, including Johnston, who still doesn’t have a goal in seven games. He had two breakaway chances in overtime and a Grade-A chance on the overtime power play, but was stopped by Swayman on all of them. He tied for the team lead in goals last season with a career-best 45. 

The Stars ranked 27th in the league in goals for per game entering Tuesday’s game, averaging 2.38. 

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This article originally published at Mikko Rantanen does it himself with hat trick, overtime goal in Stars' win over Boston.