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Stars’ Mikko Rantanen shuts down injury excuse after early playoff exit
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- Stars’ Mikko Rantanen shuts down injury excuse after early playoff exit
Stars' Mikko Rantanen shuts down injury excuse after early playoff exit appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Dallas Stars were hoping for another deep Stanley Cup Playoff run after marching to back-to-back-to-back Western Conference Finals over the last three years.
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But it wasn't to be, as they were defeated in six games by the Minnesota Wild in 2025-26 . Despite finishing with 50 wins in the regular-season — good enough for third place league-wide — they were unable to get the job done in the Central Division battle.
Mikko Rantanen put the Stars on his back last year, basically beating the Colorado Avalanche single-handedly in Game 7 and finishing the postseason with 22 points in just 18 games.
But he was unable to recreate that magic this spring, managing just a single goal, along with six assists, in the series. However, he isn't ready to use the injury he suffered at the Winter Olympics in Milan as an excuse .
"I felt good body and power wise in the playoffs, not an excuse," Rantanen told reporters in Texas on Monday, per DLLS Sports' Owen Newkirk.
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The aforementioned injury — which Rantanen politely declined to talk about — kept him out of Team Finland's bronze medal win vs. Slovakia, and cost him a good chunk of the NHL campaign.
Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan said that Rantanen was medically healthy, but nowhere near up to full speed after the long injury layoff.
"He was injured for a long, long period of time, and it's hard to get on a moving train. He had a significant injury," the bench boss said.
"So was he healthy? Yep, he worked hard to get back earlier than expected and get to try a few games. And so medically, yeah, he was healthy, but he's playing catch up."
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Dallas is a top-heavy team, and that was on fully display in Round 1. Matt Duchene, Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston and Rantanen combined for 30 points in six games.
The entire rest of the forward core chipped in just four points, which is not a recipe for any kind of success in the postseason. Depth is the name of the game for the teams that go on to win the Stanley Cup, and the Stars just did not have that.
They also didn't have the best version of Rantanen, which is one of the key reasons it'll be a longer summer than anyone involved with the franchise had hoped for.
Related: Stars' Tyler Seguin drops training camp truth bomb on ACL injury recovery
Related: Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger admits he fell short of 3 goals during 2025-26 season
