Rantanen caps hat trick with OT goal, lifts Stars past Bruins

DALLAS -- Mikko Rantanen capped a hat trick with a power-play goal at 3:52 of overtime, and the Dallas Stars came back to defeat the Boston Bruins 3-2 at American Airlines Center on Tuesday.

Rantanen received a pass from Miro Heiskanen down low on the left side, slowly stick-handled his way to the net and won it with a backhand to the glove side.

That came after Rantanen tied the game in the third period with his second goal.

“Those are big goals,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “The last one he held on to for I think 60 seconds before he made his move. He made some plays tonight. He was all over it, and that’s what those guys do. You need those guys to do that in order to win these types of games. He came up big.”

Jason Robertson had two assists, and Jake Oettinger made 18 saves for the Stars (5-3-1), who won their third game in a row.

“They’re a hard team to play,” Gulutzan said of the Bruins. “You’ve got to find a way. That’s just the League right now. It’s hard to dominate anybody for a long period of time. You’ve got to play 60 minutes, because the game swings back and forth. The power play came through on the 4-on-3.”

Matthew Poitras and James Hagens scored for the Bruins (7-2-1), who had won five straight and finished 3-0-1 on a four-game road trip. 

“I thought the guys played great, I really do,” Boston coach Marco Sturm said. “Deserved definitely a point. A little unfortunate to give up the second point, but looking back, what a great road trip. I really liked our effort tonight.” 

Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves.

“It’s hard to win in this league,” Swayman said. “It’s been the best trip ever, just because of the camaraderie and the way we’ve competed and been able to just stick together every single day.”

Rantanen made it 2-2 at 13:38 of the third. Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy blocked a Roope Hintz shot in the slot, and the puck deflected to Rantanen in the right face-off circle, where he snapped a shot to the near side.

“He’s a guy that takes over games,” Stars defenseman Tyler Myers said of Rantanen. “It’s fun to watch, especially when the third one’s an OT winner. Gets the whole group excited.”

Poitras had given Boston a 1-0 lead at 2:09 of the first period. He scored with a one-timer from the left circle off a cross-ice pass by Frederic Brunet.

Rantanen pulled Dallas even, making it 1-1 at 2:50 of the second period by burying the rebound of Robertson’s poke attempt.

“It helps when you get a goal in the second,” Rantanen said. “You start to feel the puck a little bit better and more confidence. But it starts with the legs. When legs are going, usually the game is good. Been feeling good skating and want the puck all the time, and guys are doing a good job around me. So I’ll just try to make plays and see what’s out there.”

Hagens put the Bruins back in front 2-1 at 7:30. Casey Mittelstadt carried the puck out from behind the net and sent a pass to the crease from the right side before Hagens redirected the puck over Oettinger’s pad.

“Guys were really stepping up and playing hard,” Rantanen said. “It was a hard hockey game. They’re a really good team. Physical, big D, big guys there. Just happy with the win.”

Boston held Dallas to two shots on goal in the third and had a 22-13 advantage in blocked shots for the game.

“I thought we did a pretty good job overall defensively,” Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov said. “Obviously on the power play in overtime, Mikko made an unbelievable play there. Just got to tip the hat.”

NOTES: Rantanen became the 15th player in NHL history to complete a hat trick in overtime multiple times. Five other active players have achieved the feat: Alex Ovechkin (three times), Aleksander Barkov, Brady Tkachuk, Tomas Hertl and Anthony Duclair. … Rantanen completed his hat trick with his 321st career goal, tying Olli Jokinen for the third most by a Finnish player in NHL history, behind Teemu Selanne (684) and Jari Kurri (601). He also recorded his 11th career hat trick and tied Patrik Laine for the third most by a Finnish player in NHL history. Only Kurri (23) and Selanne (22) have more.