Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 25: Granlund’s hat trick gives Stars 3-1 win – and series lead
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are back, which means that for the next two months, we’ll get non-stop exciting action in the NHL as we witness history in another team looking to win a championship. Here at Daily Faceoff, we’ll be keeping you in the loop of everything that happened in the playoffs, every day until the Stanley Cup is hoisted in June.
The Winnipeg Jets were in dire straits heading into Game 4 against the Dallas Stars, down 2-1 in the series and in desperate need of a win, despite the fact that they have yet to win on the road in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In fact, they haven’t won a road playoff game since Game 1 of their 2023 first round series against the Vegas Golden Knights. After losing Game 1 at home, they need to win at least one game on the road, and sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately for the Jets, that did not come to fruition, as once again, they struggled to shut down a Finnish player on the Stars. Except this time, it wasn’t Mikko Rantanen. It wasn’t even the newly-healed Miro Heiskanen, playing his first game in three and a half months. It was Mikael Granlund. He opened the scoring on the power play with nice rush through the neutral zone, beating a couple of Jets before firing it from just beyond the hashmarks. It was a great play from Granlund, but also a tough goal for Hellebuyck to allow.
After Nikolaj Ehlers tied the game for the Jets just 62 seconds into the second period, the game was even for most of the frame, but Granlund got on the board again with a shot off of a two-on-one to regain the lead for the Stars. He finished off the hat trick with a power play one-timer in the third to make it 3-1, and Dallas held the score at that to get the win, as well as a 3-1 lead in the series.
Have yourself a night, Mikael Granlund! 🎩 #StanleyCup
Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/ApDmu61WL8