When the spotlight is on him, Mikko Rantanen has proven in his short time in Dallas that he’s going to shine.
On a night when the Stars honored the Finnish forward by handing out bobbleheads of him to the crowd at American Airlines Center, he scored twice and recorded a primary assist to lift the Stars to a 4-3 shootout win over the Edmonton Oilers.
The Stars spent almost the entire game trailing after Edmonton jumped out to a 2-0 lead just 7:07 into the game. But Miro Heiskanen tied the game with 7:40 remaining to force overtime and extend the Stars’ points streak to seven games.
Neither team scored in the overtime period. Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston scored in the shootout, and Casey DeSmith made two saves to secure the Stars’ win.
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The Stars’ overtime and shootout record improved to 2-3.
Edmonton’s Vasily Podkolzin scored just 3:40 into the contest on an embarrassing defensive lapse by the Stars. Then, less than four minutes later, an Esa Lindell cross-checking penalty put Edmonton on a power play where Leon Draisaitl scored on a one-timer from a sharp angle.
By the midway point of the game, the Stars allowed just eight shots on goal, but the Oilers had scored on 25% of them.
But Rantanen pulled the Stars into the game midway through, scoring the first of his goals by sweeping in a loose puck on the power play.
The Stars’ power play had four tries Tuesday and converted once. Dallas has been hot on the man advantage, scoring nine goals in its last six games.
Connor McDavid built a two-goal lead for Edmonton early in the third, but Rantanen responded less than a minute later. Just over three minutes after that, Heiskanen scored on a rebound of a shot taken by Wyatt Johnston. Johnston assisted on all three Stars’ goals.
The Stars were again shorthanded, missing three of their top four centers. Matt Duchene missed his eighth consecutive game, and Roope Hintz missed his fifth straight. Center Radek Faksa was also ruled out just ahead of gametime.
Stars goalie Jake Oettinger didn’t play either Tuesday due to the birth of his child, but he backed up Casey DeSmith, who made 23 saves.
The Stars came alive at the right time to take down the team that eliminated them from the playoffs the last two years and extend an impressive points streak given the skill they’ve been missing in the lineup.
The Oilers were playing their third game in four days. The Stars host the Anaheim Ducks Thursday, beginning a stretch of their own of three games in four days.