Brière was a monster in that series scoring six goals to lead the Flyers. The Sabres had a 3-2 series lead headed into Game 6 at home, but Brière scored twice in Game 6 as Philadelphia won 5-4 in overtime, on a goal by soon-to-be-Sabre Ville Leino. Brière also scored in Game 7 that gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead in a game they went on to win 5-2.

A day after Winnipeg’s Game 3 loss to Dallas at American Airlines Center, a reporter asked Jets coach Scott Arniel if the Jets have noticed any changes between the Stars team they saw in the regular season and the one they’re playing now in the second round of the playoffs.

The Avalanche first dealt Rantanen, a 2022 Stanley Cup champion while sharing the ice with Kadri, in January to the Carolina Hurricanes before he forced a trade-deadline move to the Stars. Immediately following his trade to Dallas, the Stars signed him to an eight-year, $96 million contract extension —a deal Colorado reportedly refused to match.

Mikko Rantanen’s NHL playoffs-record streak of consecutive goals involved in has ended at 13 for the Dallas Stars.

With the win the Stars become the new Stanley Cup favorite, and top scorer Mikko Rantanen jumps over Connor McDavid as the favorite for the Conn Smythe Trophy, handed out for the playoff MVP.

The Stars' contingent of Finnish players, including Game 4 hero Mikael Granlund, are coming up big during this postseason run.

And while two overtime victories and a game seven hat trick from Mikko Rantanen in the team’s opening round win over the Colorado Avalanche certainly served as a path to getting back on track, a daunting task awaited in the second round in the form of the western conference’s top team from the 2024-25 season, the Winnipeg Jets.

Rantanen is putting up historic numbers in the playoffs for the Stars, but to those close to him, seeing the joy is more important.