Remember how Mikko Rantanen always seems to be where the storm hits hardest? Yup, he’s back in the hot seat again. Ever since landing with the Dallas Stars, fans were hyped to see a spark of that old Colorado magic. But instead of lighting up the scoreboard, it’s been a bumpy ride, like, really bumpy. Just 1 goal and 3 helpers in his last 5 outings? That’s not quite the glow-up Dallas was hoping for. And just when we thought things couldn’t get messier, a few days ago, Rantanen crashed, literally, into the Flames’ Connor Zary in a brutal third-period moment that had everyone in the arena holding their breath. Zary hit the ice clutching his knee, the pain written all over his face, and social media lit up with fans furious at Rantanen’s recklessness.

Turns out, Zary avoided a full-on disaster, no broken leg, thank the hockey gods, but still, it stung hard for the Flames, especially with the playoffs breathing down their necks. The timing couldn’t have been worse either. Zary had just made his comeback from a knee injury. Seeing him go down like that again? Total nightmare. And this ain’t even the first time Rantanen’s stirred up trouble; he recently had a sketchy run-in with Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner too. With all these chaotic collisions stacking up, Rantanen’s reputation is taking hit after hit. And now, the so-called Public Enemy #1 Mikko Rantanen flips the script, lighting it up and keeping Dallas Stars fans clinging to the edge of their seats with his fiery playoff performance.

“Rantanen empty-netter for the hat trick. Wow. No Heiskanen, no Robertson, no problem. The Dallas Stars win a Stanley Cup level series with the rival Colorado Avalanche, one of the best series I’ve ever covered,” Pierre LeBrun dropped this gem on X, and it hit like a thunderclap. With the Stars missing two of their biggest names, it was Mikko Rantanen who went on full-blown beast mode in Game 7, silencing the doubters, turning the tide, and tossing all that earlier hate right out the Zamboni door.

And just when fans thought they’d seen it all, ᴀʀᴅᴀ Öᴄᴀʟ chimed in with a jaw-dropper: “Mikko Rantanen is the first player in NHL history with a game 7 third period hat trick.” Yep, you read that right. Rantanen pulled off a third-period miracle that had jaws on the floor and the arena straight-up levitating. From public enemy to playoff legend, the man just wrote himself into hockey’s wildest chapter.

Mikko Rantanen totally flipped the script under the bright lights of Game 7, and wow, what a chaotic masterpiece it turned into. With the Dallas Stars staring down a 2-0 hole in the third, it was like someone lit a fire under Mikko’s skates. The former Avalanche star came back to haunt his old squad, popping off with a wild three-goal flurry that had fans screaming and jaws dropping. His first goal cracked the silence at 7:49, the second one brought the building to life at 13:46, and then Wyatt Johnston jumped in for the go-ahead magic. But Mikko wasn’t done yet. He iced the night with an empty-netter that felt like sweet, cold revenge.

And honestly, the vibe after the buzzer was something out of a sports movie. Breathless, beaming, and sitting right there on the Stars’ bench, Rantanen told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, “Really no words to describe the belief in the group, the whole team of ours. There was no quit at any point.” Man, talk about clutch genes kicking in. And guess what? Now that he’s taken down his old crew in epic fashion, Mikko’s finally getting the flowers he deserves, especially after the trade noise and all the up-and-down drama. The cool part? His former squad isn’t throwing shade either. In fact, just a few days ago, they gave him a nod of respect, showing there’s no bad blood—just mutual appreciation for a baller who showed up when it counted most.

Mikko Rantanen gets acknowledged by his former team!

In the hockey world, nicknames are more than just fun—they’re a badge of honor, a slice of brotherhood, and “Moose” may have roamed the ice, but in the Avalanche locker room, he was always just… Mikko. No flash, no frills, no “Rants” or “96,” just plain Mikko. That quiet familiarity hits different. Like Cale is just Cale, and Nate is Nate—not some overhyped “Dogg.” Even now, with Mikko skating for the Stars and rocking enemy colors, that name still clings tight like ice on skates. “Every time the pads go on,” Coach Bednar said, “That’s it. Every other time he’s going to be Mikko to me.” Simple. Real. That kind of bond, that kind of legacy? It doesn’t just melt away.

Sure, he’s the villain now. He’s public enemy number one in green, the guy who sent the Avs packing with just a flick of the wrist and a sniper’s stare. But even when the boos rain down at Ball Arena, they’re laced with a hint of heartbreak. He was cheered during that emotional tribute vid his first time back, and now, anytime he touches the puck? The crowd roars, but not in the way they used to. Still, if he’d gone anywhere else, Carolina, Philly, wherever, he might still be Mikko to the fans, too. But Dallas? That hit different. Yet inside that Avalanche dressing room, there’s nothing but respect for their old teammate. “You’re never going to hear me say a bad word about Mikko Rantanen,” Bednar said. “You look at what he did for us… you’re just never going to hear me say anything bad about him.”

So yeah, Saturday’s Game 7 was war, pure and raw, with legacies hanging on every slapshot. Mikko was the same cold-blooded playoff killer they’ve always known. The dude with eight points in six games who nearly ripped Colorado’s heart in two. “Mikko is up there with the best of them,” Devon Toews said. “You expect them to break out and get their opportunities at times.” Whether he’s lighting it up in green or reminiscing in burgundy, win or lose, once the ice settles and the sticks are still, he won’t just be No. 96. He’ll go right back to being Mikko. Always was, always will be.