‘Forecheck Was Good’: Mikko Rantanen Scores In 100th Game With Dallas Stars, Trails Only Dino Ciccarelli And Neal Broten
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mikko Rantanen scored for the third straight game Thursday night, in his 100th game with the Dallas Stars. He has 114 points (36 goals, 78 assists) through those 100 games.
That total is the third-most by a player through his first 100 games with the franchise. Dino Ciccarelli had 127 and Neal Broten had 120.
Rantanen’s goal was the only one of regulation until Zach Werenski tied it with 3:14 left. The Columbus Blue Jackets won 2-1 in a shootout at Nationwide Arena. Dallas acquired Rantanen from Carolina in March 2025.
Mikko Rantanen Reaches 100 Games With Third Straight Goal
The goal came 6:27 into the third period. Wyatt Johnston jumped on an Ivan Provorov turnover in front of the Columbus net and forced a save from Cam Talbot. Rantanen collected the rebound to the right of the net and waited for an opening at the near post.
Rantanen thought Dallas played a pretty good 60 minutes. The Stars were 0-for-1 on the power play and scored their only goal at even strength.
“We were turning some pucks over, especially in the second period,” Rantanen said. “We should have had a goal or two probably there but forecheck was good. Our ‘D’ was doing a good job joining the rush, getting some chances from there and extending the O-zone time, so that was good.”
The goal was Rantanen’s ninth of the season. He has 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) during a four-game point streak that started Oct. 29 against Montreal.
Through 16 games, Rantanen has 9 goals, 10 assists, and 19 points. He leads the Stars in goals and points and is tied for the team lead with 2 power-play goals and 5 power-play points. He has scored on 30.0% of his 30 shots.
His run of goals started Oct. 31 against Columbus, when he scored on the power play 2:16 into a 3-1 win in Dallas. He also had a hat trick in a 3-2 overtime win over Boston on Oct. 20.
The Stars had come off a 6-5 win at Washington two nights earlier. Stars coach Glen Gulutzan saw Thursday as a return to how Dallas wants to play, even with the result.
“It was a good hockey game, tight checking, and it was back to our identity,” Gulutzan said. “But the result still stung.”
Johnston’s assist extended his point streak to four games, with 1 goal and 5 assists in that span. He has 14 points (3 goals, 11 assists) in 14 games this season.
Stars Fall In Shootout Before San Jose Sharks Visit
Werenski scored at 16:46 of the third on a backhand over Casey DeSmith’s left pad, his first goal of the season. Overtime was scoreless.
In the shootout, DeSmith stopped Charlie Coyle, and Talbot stopped Jason Robertson and Tyler Seguin. Valeri Nichushkin and Kent Johnson scored for Columbus.
Rantanen did not shoot Thursday and is 0-for-2 in shootouts this season. He put the tiebreaker down to chance.
“Shootout is always a coin toss,” Rantanen explained. “It could go either way.”
Tyler Myers came away thinking about the point Dallas did not get.
“We did a lot of good things,” Myers said. “We still left a point out there, so there’s always room to get better.”
Dallas fell to 9-5-2 and played without Miro Heiskanen, who has an upper-body injury. Gulutzan said Friday that Heiskanen is doubtful for Saturday.
The Stars host the San Jose Sharks at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday at American Airlines Center. Rantanen has 39 points (20 goals, 19 assists) in 30 career games against San Jose and carries an eight-game point streak against the Sharks, with 6 goals and 6 assists in that stretch. Dallas beat San Jose 5-0 on Oct. 5.
