Mikko Rantanen carries Stars into second round, when they could get back Heiskanen and Robertson

DALLAS (AP) — Mikko Rantanen carried the Dallas Stars past his former team in the first round of the NHL playoffs, punctuated with a hat trick that was part of his historic four-point third period in Game 7.

Now the Stars could soon be getting back two players who were part of their deep runs the past two postseasons before Rantanen was acquired in a deadline trade in March and promptly signed a $96 million, eight-year contract extension.

Top defenseman Miro Heiskanen and prolific forward Jason Robertson, their leading goal scorer in the regular season, missed the seven-game series against Colorado because of lower-body injuries.

Heiskanen hasn't played since Jan. 28, and Robertson got hurt in the regular-season finale 2 1/2 weeks ago. Both are experienced 25-year-old players.

“I consider them both day to day now but, you know, there’s still some hurdles,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said after their 4-2 series-clinching win over Colorado on Saturday night. “I believe you’re going to see them both play in the second round. I don't know whether it's going to be Game 1, Game 3 or Game 5."

Dallas has now won a Game 7 in each of DeBoer's first three postseasons, and made it to the Western Conference Final each of the past two.

The Stars will open the second round at top-seeded Winnipeg on Wednesday. The Jets scored twice in the final 1:56 of regulation in their Game 7 on Sunday night, then beat St. Louis 4-3 on Adam Lowry's deflection 16:10 into the second overtime.

Rantanen had only one assist in the first four games against Colorado before 11 points (five goals, six assists) the rest of the series. That scoring output set a Stars franchise record for any three-game postseason stretch, and made him the first player in NHL history — playoffs and regular season combined — to have consecutive games with four-point periods.

He was only the second NHL player to have four points in the third period of a Game 7. He also is the only one of nine players with a Game 7 hat trick to score all his goals in the final period.

“You can't write it up any better than that,” Stars goalie Jake Oettinger said. “A guy comes over and knocks out his old team, puts the team on his back, and one of the best individual performances I’ve seen in the playoffs in my life.”

Rantanen had 101 points (34 goals, 67 assists) in 81 playoff games for the Avalanche the past seven seasons, including their 2022 Stanley Cup run.

While it was often pointed out that those impressive numbers came when playing with Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar in that stretch, they were on the opposite side for Rantanen's postseason debut with the Stars.

“I think he answered that question,” DeBoer said. “I’ve had a lot of playoff runs and I haven’t had a player string together the three games he’s strung together — Games 5, 6 and 7 — how dominant he’s been shift to shift.”

With Rantanen already doing that, and the pending return of Heiskanen (61 points in 85 playoff games) and Robertson (38 points in 45 playoff games), Dallas certainly has every reason to feel confident moving forward. The Stars just beat a division rival that outscored them 24-21 and outshot them by nearly eight a game.

“I have a hard time believing that there’s any team that’s much better than Colorado out there,” said Oettinger, who is 3-1 in Game 7s.

“There’s something special going on,” said DeBoer, the first NHL coach or player be part of nine Game 7 victories. “It sure doesn’t feel like we’ve only won one round. We’re just getting started, but that was an absolute gauntlet of a series.”

Wyatt Johnston, who will turn 22 during the second round, scored the go-ahead goal Saturday night on a power play with 3:56 left. He has a goal in all three of his Game 7s over three seasons, with the series-clinching tally in each of his past two to become the first NHL player with multiple winners at 22 or younger.

“We have such a great group and I think we have so much confidence in our team that we can beat anyone, and it’s great to go against a team that’s one of the best teams in the league in Colorado,” Johnston said. “I think as a group, we have that confidence that we can win any series against anyone.”

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin, center, shoots against Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, third from left, as Avalanche defenseman Ryan Lindgren (55) covers in the second period of Game 6 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche center Parker Kelly, center, struggles to collect the puck as Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley, right, and goaltender Jake Oettinger cover in the third period of Game 6 of an NHL first-round hockey playoff series Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Fans and Dallas Stars' Mikko Rantanen, celebrate after Rantanen scored an emtpy-net goal against the Colorado Avalanche in the third period in Game 7 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) and head coach Pete DeBoer, rear, celebrate the teams 4-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Stars right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) congratulates center Roope Hintz, after, after his goal in the second period of Game 6 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The Dallas Stars celebrate after Mikko Rantanen, laying against boards at rear, scored against the Colorado Avalanche's Mackenzie Blackwood (39) in the third period in Game 7 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Four years after showing up late for the Beijing Olympics and missing one of his races because of a case of COVID-19, U.S. long track speedskater Casey Dawson is enjoying what he jokingly terms his “villain arc,” peaking at the right time ahead of the Milan Cortina Games.

Dawson secured a spot for next month in the men's 5,000 meters — an event he was forced to skip in 2022 while sick — by winning at that distance at the U.S. Olympic trials in 6 minutes, 12.857 seconds on Friday night.

“I actually got COVID two or three weeks before going to the competition. Tested positive for 50 straight tests,” said Dawson, a 25-year-old from Park City, Utah. “Couldn’t go over to the Games. I missed the opening ceremonies. Missed the 5,000 meters. Showed up 12 hours before my 1,500 meters. So I kind of got a little screwed over from that point of view. But this time around, I’m just looking forward to getting there smoothly and just getting a little bit of redemption.”

And then, with a chuckle, Dawson added: “It’s kind of fun to have, like, my villain arc, I would call it. Just coming back and having some fun.”

Ethan Cepuran was about 6 1/2 seconds back Friday, finishing next in 6:19.335.

The last American man to medal in the 5,000 at an Olympics was Chad Hedrick at the 2006 Turin Games.

Dawson already had secured the lone U.S. place for Milan in the men’s 10,000 — a race not being contested at these trials — and also will be part of the trio for men’s team pursuit at the Olympics.

Dawson, Cepuran and Emery Lehman took the bronze in that event in Beijing four years ago, set the world record in 2024 and claimed gold in the team pursuit at the world championships in March.

In the other race Friday, the women's 3,000, Greta Myers won in 4:06.799. As of now, the United States does not have a berth in Milan for that distance, but one of its athletes could end up in the field if another country relinquishes an opening.

“It's hard to wait,” said Myers, a 21-year-old from Lino Lakes, Minnesota. “But I'm very hopeful. I think it's at least a 50-50 chance that it'll happen.”

The U.S. Olympic roster for long track won't become official until the four-day trials at the Pettit National Ice Center wrap up on Monday. One element that could come into play is that the Americans are allowed to bring a maximum of eight men and six women to these Winter Games.

The biggest star of the team — and the sport — is scheduled to make his trials debut Saturday in the men's 1,000 meters: Jordan Stolz. The 21-year-old from Kewaskum, a town about 40 miles north of Milwaukee, is not just competing at home this week; he's racing at the same rink where he first began taking lessons as a kid.

He made his Olympic debut at age 17 in Beijing four years ago, finishing 13th in the 500 and 14th in the 1,000.

At both the 2023 and 2024 world championships, Stolz earned titles in each of the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meters.

He's already pre-qualified for the Olympics based on performances at those three distances. All he really needs to do to lock down berths on the squad for the Feb. 6-22 Milan Cortina Games is show up at the starting line this week.

The 500 and 1,500 are slated for Sunday, and the mass start is Monday.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Casey Dawson, of Park City, Utah, right, and Ethan Cepuran, of Glen Ellyn, lllinois, left, compete in the men's 5,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic trials for long track speed skating at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Howard Fendrich)

The Pettit National Ice Center is seen in Milwaukee on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, the first day of the U.S. Olympic trials for long track speedskating. (AP Photo/Howard Fendrich)