By the numbers: Tip your cap to Rantanen's postseason

Mikko Rantanen is having a postseason for the ages.

The Dallas Stars winger became the third player in NHL history to record back-to-back hat tricks with a stunning effort in Wednesday's 3-2 Game 1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets.

Below, we look at some of the wildest numbers behind Rantanen's red-hot stretch, including reactions from his teammates and the man himself.

40 - Jari Kurri was the last player with back-to-back postseason hat tricks, accomplishing the feat during the 1985 Western Conference Final almost exactly 40 years ago. Doug Bentley was the first to do it in Games 4 and 5 of the 1944 Stanley Cup Final.

"Keep it going," Stars head coach Peter DeBoer said of Rantanen's dominance. "Let's see how long he can run this for. He's rolling, and he's feeling it. Pretty impressive what he's doing considering the opponent and the time of year."

1 - Rantanen is the first player in NHL history to have multiple three-goal periods during the same postseason. His Game 7 hat trick against the Colorado Avalanche came in the third frame, and his outburst in Game 1 versus the Jets was in the second period.

He's also the fourth player with two three-goal periods at any point in his playoff career, joining Wayne Gretzky and Maurice Richard, who did it three times, and Tim Kerr, who did it twice.

"Sometimes it goes that way," Rantanen said. "Even the third goal (against Winnipeg) goes off them and goes five-hole.

"When you're going through a tough stretch, you feel like you can only pray for those, and those never come. Sometimes it's ups and downs in hockey, and now it's going well individually and as a team."

12 - Rantanen has factored in on 12 straight Stars goals, beginning with an assist on Roope Hintz's empty-netter in Dallas' Game 5 victory over the Avalanche on April 28. He's recorded five helpers and seven goals over that span.

That stretch is the longest in Stanley Cup Playoffs history. Rantanen entered Wednesday's contest tied with Mario Lemieux, who recorded a point on nine straight postseason goals in 1992.

"Twelve straight?" a disbelieving Jason Robertson said. "I've never heard of that."

That said, Robertson wouldn't mind taking some of those points off Rantanen's plate.

"I think everyone's playing great. Everyone's getting opportunities, chances. He's a premier player, so he gets good bounces," Robertson said with a laugh. "I'm sure everyone else will get good bounces, too.

"He's working hard, everyone else is working, and I'm sure everyone in here is itching to take the load off him, but we're happy to take his performances."

14 - Rantanen has totaled eight goals and 14 points in his last four games after logging one assist in his first four outings this postseason. His 15 points lead all skaters in these playoffs, two more than Connor McDavid and William Nylander in second place.

47.1 - Rantanen has scored on nearly half of his 17 shots in his last four games, good for a blistering 47.1 shooting percentage.

6 - Six different Stars assisted on Rantanen's hat trick Wednesday: Evgenii Dadonov, Sam Steel, Thomas Harley, Ilya Lyubushkin, Matt Duchene, and Hintz.

DeBoer double-shifted Rantanen during the contest, using him in the top six with Mikael Granlund and Hintz and on the fourth line with Dadonov and Steel.

"I don't think it matters to him who he's out there with," DeBoer said. "He's trying to make a difference when he's on that ice every time that he's out there."

Rantanen appears to be just fine with the arrangement.

"I don't mind it. If (DeBoer) wants to do that, I'm ready for it," he said.

1.88 - Rantanen is rocking a 1.88 point-per-game rate in these playoffs, the highest of his postseason career. He produced at a 1.25 clip with 25 points in 20 contests when he won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022.

He already established a new career high with eight goals through eight games this spring.

"I don't think so, no," Rantanen said when asked if he's ever had a heater like this. "But linemates, teammates are obviously helping me a lot on the ice. Such a deep lineup we have, so it doesn't really matter who we play with."