ESPN News Services
May 13, 2025, 11:07 PM ET
DALLAS -- Mikael Granlund had his first career playoff hat trick, Miro Heiskanen returned from a 42-game absence, Jake Oettinger stopped 31 shots and the Dallas Stars defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 on Tuesday night, taking a 3-1 series lead over the top-seeded club in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Dallas coach Pete DeBoer, in speaking with reporters on Monday, sent out signals that Heiskanen's return was near, saying "I'm still sticking by what I projected: that we would see him in the second round." And he was right, as his top blueliner assisted on Granlund's third goal of the night, and finished with 19 shifts, covering 14:52 time on ice.
Mikko Rantanen upped his NHL-leading playoff total to 19 points, including nine goals, with the primary assist on Granlund's second goal that broke a 1-1 tie with 2:08 left in the second period and put the Stars ahead to stay.
Granlund did a double fist pump from his knees, then popped up to his skates after his third goal, his fourth in these playoffs, on a power play with 12:37 left in the game. The 33-year-old forward had scored multiple goals only one time in his previous 69 playoff games, for Minnesota in 2014.
Game 5 is at Winnipeg on Thursday, when the Stars will have their first chance to advance to the West final for the third year in a row.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the Jets, who have lost all five of their road games this postseason.
Heiskanen was in the lineup for the first time since Jan. 28 after missing the last 32 regular-season games and first 10 playoff games because of a knee injury. Throughout the postseason, though, he has been skating with the team, building up the drama towards his return.
Granlund notched his first goal after skating down the middle over both blue lines, and a nifty move around Brandon Tanev near mid-ice, before snapping a 38-foot shot past Connor Hellebuyck for a 1-0 lead just 8 1/2 minutes into the game.
Hellebuyck has now lost nine consecutive playoff road games since winning Game 1 at Vegas in 2023, before the Golden Knights won four in a row. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner, the odds-on favorite to win the top goalie award again this season, has allowed 24 goals in the five road losses in these playoffs.
The Jets began the second period with a minute left on a power play and Dallas technically killed the tripping penalty. But Ehlers scored from a severe angle, his shot from the bottom of the circle to left of Oettinger going under the goalie's legs and ricocheting into the net while Tyler Seguin was coming out of the box.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
