The Dallas Stars’ big 3-1 win in Game 4 against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night was like, totally wild, man. The Jets, like, they took 72 shots, but only scored once. Meanwhile, Mikael Granlund from the Stars was on fire, scoring three goals on just three shots. Talk about efficiency, right? Granlund’s hat trick was all the Stars needed to take a 3-1 series lead, putting them one step closer to the Western Conference finals for the third time in a row.
Who is Mikael Granlund, you ask? Well, he’s this 13-year veteran who the Stars snagged from the San Jose Sharks in a trade back in February. This was his first hat trick ever, and he made it look easy peasy. His first goal came on a power play, and he just casually skated past three Jets defensemen and fired a shot that went straight into the net. The Jets goalie, Connor Hellebuyck, was probably like, “dude, what just happened?” after that goal.
The second goal from Granlund was set up by Mikko Rantanen, who’s been killing it in the playoffs with a league-leading point total of 19. Granlund got a sweet pass from Rantanen in the neutral zone, went on a 2-on-1 with Roope Hintz, and decided to just roof it into the net. Smooth move, man. And the third goal? Well, that came on another power play in the third period, thanks to a penalty on the Jets. Granlund got a one-timer pass from Miro Heiskanen and just nailed it, bringing the crowd to its feet and hats raining down on the ice. The Finnish Mafia (Granlund, Rantanen, and Heiskanen) showed up big time in this game, along with their other Finnish teammates, helping the Stars secure the win.
So, like, Dallas is now up 3-1 in the series and just needs one more win to advance to the Western Conference finals. The Jets, on the other hand, are in a tough spot. They took a gazillion shots but only managed to score once. Ouch. Their coach is like, “we need to find more goals, man, or we’re not gonna win anything.” Fair point, coach. The Stars will try to close out the series on Thursday night in Winnipeg, so it’s gonna be a do-or-die situation for the Jets. Let’s see if they can bounce back or if the Stars will continue their dominance in the playoffs.
