A scorer coming off a hat trick is allowed to pass. Mikko Rantanen made that unremarkable proposition unusually valuable Thursday, helping set up both Dallas goals in regulation after scoring all three himself against Boston two nights earlier.
Dallas beat the Jets 3-2 in overtime Thursday at American Airlines Center. Rantanen finished with no goals and one shot in 20:09, but his two primary assists created both Dallas goals in regulation. One opened the scoring.
The other kept the game alive. His work offered a better argument for his value than a simple hunt for another hat trick: the scorer can decide a game by choosing the right finisher.
Johnston scored at 1:17 of the second period after Robertson found Rantanen near the left circle. Rantanen’s next pass sent the puck across to Johnston. The sequence did not need Rantanen to take the last shot for his touch to be valuable; the goal came from moving it to another player who could finish.
That is a useful distinction for a player whose latest headline had been a hat trick. A scorer’s shot total can attract attention even when a pass is the better contribution to a particular attack. Rantanen finished Thursday with just one shot. That small number sits beside two primary assists, rather than standing alone as a complaint about his involvement.
Johnston’s finish gave Dallas a lead it could not hold. Vilardi and Connor scored later in the second period, and the Stars were still trailing 2-1 late in the third. Rantanen’s early assist had opened the scoring; his next would help keep the night from ending in defeat.
The second assist required a different read. Dallas trailed 2-1 at 18:00 of the third period, with its goaltender pulled for an extra attacker. Rantanen worked the puck from behind the net to the low slot, where Roope Hintz finished the tying goal.
Again, Rantanen did not take the last shot. He located the teammate in position to do the most damage and delivered the puck there.
Both Dallas regulation goals came with six skaters against five, but their situations were different. Johnston scored during the delayed penalty; Hintz scored late with the goaltender pulled. Neither was a formal power-play goal, and Dallas went 0 for 2 on its actual power plays.
The comparison makes Rantanen’s passing more interesting, not less: he produced twice when Dallas had an extra attacker, but through two distinct decisions rather than one repeated set play.
Those different passing positions are the interesting part. From near the circle, Rantanen moved the puck across the attack. From behind the net, he supplied Hintz in the low slot.
