When Mikko Rantanen left Colorado, critics said he wouldn’t be the same player without Nathan MacKinnon as his centerman.
When he arrived in Dallas, he was lined up next to Roope Hintz, and the two Finns had instant chemistry.
But when Hintz missed five games with an injury, the real test began for whether Rantanen could still produce without his countryman.
It only opened the Stars’ eyes to a duo the team didn’t know it needed.
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For the last eight games, Rantanen and Wyatt Johnston have been linemates and formed an undeniable chemistry. Even after Hintz’s return, Stars coach Glen Gulutzan chose to leave the Finnish right winger with the 22-year-old centerman. Both 5-on-5 and on the power play, they’ve been a difficult duo to want to split up.
“Watching both players the last few years, you know what they’re capable of. It’s been really good,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “Smart players can play with each other.”
In the last eight games, Rantanen has recorded 14 points, and Johnston has 11. The centerman now leads the league with eight power-play goals. The two forwards have combined directly for eight goals, including five on the power play, meaning they’re producing as a duo at a goal-per-game pace.
“He’s a versatile player, does everything good,” Rantanen said of Johnston. “He can score goals, has an elite shot, but he can also make plays and make passes. He’s good in tight areas, beating guys one-on-one. Just fun to play with. We’ve been creating some chances and connecting, so I think it’s good. I’m excited to play with him.”
Gulutzan said he envisioned the two playmakers, who may be among the most versatile players on the Stars’ roster, as a potential pair ahead of the season. Gulutzan said when he first returned to Dallas that rather than visualizing trios of forward lines, he prefers to build around duos.
Given Rantanen’s history with a right-shot centerman in MacKinnon, Gulutzan and his assistants wondered if he would be better suited skating next to Johnston instead of Hintz. He also liked Hintz’s history with Jason Robertson, which has spanned seasons in Dallas, and wanted to keep them together while trying out different right wings to replace where Joe Pavelski once played.
But the Hintz injury ultimately forced Gulutzan’s hand — and produced a silver lining that could benefit the Stars all season long.
“It gives us a different look as a team,” Johnston said. “It’s good to see things a different way.
“We’re both guys that can make plays, but we’re also guys that can finish when you make plays to them. I’ve got to know his game really well. He’s a fun player to play with.”
Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said before Saturday’s 5-1 loss to Dallas that he instructed his team to key in on Johnston and Rantanen. The Flyers were successful in doing so, keeping their line with Sam Steel off the scoresheet outside of one Rantanen assist on the power play.
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But that only opened the door for another line — Hintz’s with Robertson and Tyler Seguin. Robertson now has six goals in the last three games, and that line had three 5-on-5 goals Saturday night.
The Robertson-Hintz chemistry has been there and spanned multiple coaching regimes. But Robertson’s connection with Seguin is growing and may be Dallas’ next unexpected duo early this season.
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