Rantanen, Stars eliminate Colorado Avalanche with stunning comeback

The Colorado Avalanche fell 4-2 to the Dallas Stars in Game 7 of their opening-round series on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center. The Avalanche had a 2-0 lead less than a minute into the third period.

But then, former Avalanche Mikko Rantanen turned up the juice, scoring a natural hat trick to send his former team packing for the summer.

The Stars scored twice on the power play, with Wyatt Johnston adding the other. The Stars looked completely out of the game but somehow managed to capitalize on a couple of lucky bounces, including Rantanen’s tying goal that went off Samuel Girard’s skate.

Here’s a look at the goal:

The play seemed harmless enough, but the bounce off Girard’s skate led to the game-tying goal. Then, Johnston got the game-winner.

The Stars added one more, an empty-netter, to seal the victory.

The Stars now await the winner of Sunday night’s clash between the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues. That series has also gone the distance. The winner of that second-round series will meet the winner of the Edmonton Oilers-Vegas Golden Knights series in the Western Conference Final.

Colorado Avalanche now 0-4 in Game 7s in Bednar era

Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar reached a dubious distinction, going 0-4 in Game 7s in his career.

Before Saturday night, Bednar and the Avalanche had failed to win three previous Game 7s. The last time the Avalanche lost a Game 7 was, once again, in the first round. On that occasion, it was the Seattle Kraken who bounced the Avs in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Avs also lost in Game 7 against the San Jose Sharks in the second round of the 2019 playoffs.

But, unfortunately, Saturday night’s Game 7 loss was the second time the Dallas Stars have bounced Colorado in the playoffs in a Game 7. The first time happened in the 2020 playoffs when the Stars sent Colorado packing in the second round.

In fact, before the Avs finally won the Cup in 2022, the narrative surrounding the team was its inability to get past the first and second rounds. The reputation as chokers and underachievers was finally dispelled with that magical Cup run.

Since that incredible run, it seems the Avalanche are back to where they started. They haven’t been able to make it past the second round, and are now staring at a summer of question marks.

While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where things went wrong this season, we’ll have the summer to dissect everything that happened.

Think about it this way: The Avalanche’s epic collapse is like an accident scene. Investigators need to recreate the situation and figure out the precise moment when everything went wrong. Then, investigators can point the finger at those responsible.

Now is not the time to pin the blame on anyone. The best thing to do now is to let the reality of another disappointing ending sink in before turning our attention to the next order of business.