DALLAS, Texas. — The silence was deafening in the locker room postgame. Following a collapse of epic proportions, the players were stunned after the 4-2 loss. Stunned about what had just happened. Stunned about the way it happened and who did it to them. Stunned that once again the Colorado Avalanche came up short in a Game 7 against the Stars. 

Leading 2-0 with under 15 minutes to go, the Avs were by far the better team for at least the first 45 minutes of the matchup. But when the tide turned, it turned quickly, and the toughest part to swallow is that it was all because of Mikko Rantanen.  

It started with an unlucky sequence and a debatably incorrect tripping penalty on Cale Makar. Playing without a stick, the star defenseman slid in an attempt to prevent a scoring opportunity and it looked like he connected with the puck before taking down Roope Hintz. Unfortunately for Colorado, though, the officials didn’t see it that way and Dallas was awarded a power play. 

Rantanen was able to capitalize quickly, scoring his first goal of the night with a wrist shot at the 7:49 mark of the third period to pull the Stars within 1. He would later go on to score two more times in the period to pull off the first third-period hat trick in a game 7 in NHL history. His second, a wrap-around attempt, was particularly impressive as it was the product of just sheer determination and will.

Although losing in any fashion would have been a gut punch, leading 2-0 in the third period, only to fall 4-2 to the same team that has had Colorado’s number in the postseason for 25 years added a little extra salt to the wound. And the fact that it was Rantanen who did all the damage only made it sting that much more.

Roughly four months ago, Rantanen skated for the other side. He had 64 points for the Avalanche this season alone. But we all know how that played out, with the man they call the ‘Moose’ being traded to Carolina, and then ultimately to Dallas.

Maybe the Avs would have done things differently had they known that Rantanen would be dealt again after shipping him off to the Eastern Conference initially. Maybe they would have elected to just give him the payday that he was seeking. Honestly, though, it really doesn’t matter what might have happened. Because what did happen is a player that was drafted and developed in Colorado, a guy who played 619 games in an Avalanche sweater, proved to be the grim reaper in the end. 

Obviously it’s easy to be critical after the fact. Hindsight is always 20/20. But Rantanen producing eight points over the final two games of the series and looking like a bonafide superstar was every Avalanche fan’s worst nightmare come true. He was one of the most beloved players of the era because of moments just like this. Rantanen is as pure of a goal scorer as they come. And if he didn’t seem like he was worth the money back then, he sure as hell does now. 

Given how this series played out, the attention now turns to the future, which was potentially mortgaged in pursuit of a championship this season. That’s not to say that it was a dumb decision or that the Avs should not have made the other moves they did at the deadline. But it’s always a gamble when you go all in, and the reality is that sometimes the cards just don’t turn out the way you had hoped. 

Nathan MacKinnon, who was visibly distraught but was also extremely frank postgame, mentioned the frustrations of not being able to get through the Stars despite them missing two of their top players. 

“We still couldn’t beat them,” he said. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.” 

Gabriel Landeskog talked about how slim the margins are in the postseason and the way the game seemed to just slip away from them. He said that it was tough to articulate any feeling other than just how much it sucks to lose this way. The Avs lost three games in which they led in the third period. 

“I just wasn’t ready to stop playing, to be honest, “ Landeskog said. “We love this group. Love the team we have, love the fight that we keep showing time and time again, and it just wasn’t our night tonight so therefore we are done.” 

When asked if he would have been told in the preseason that he would score three goals in a Game 7 against the Avalanche, Rantanen said he would have probably left the room in disbelief. He talked about knowing how this is a business but that it was an incredibly difficult year for him getting traded twice. And to now eliminate his former teammates of 10 years, it’s emotional for him.

“They’re my brothers for sure,” Rantanen said. “Most of them, I know really well. And I played with them for, like you said, 10 years. There’s a couple of guys who have been there since Day 1. You know, Nathan and Landy, so it’s emotional. Obviously we’re enemies in this series on the ice, but I will always love them off of the ice.” 

There are a lot of things that went wrong for the Avs along the way. Losing Games 2 and 3 in overtime despite only trailing for about a minute in regulation was not a good omen. The power play unit going 3-for-22 in the series was certainly a major factor. But the biggest difference was really that one side just found a way to grind out games and win ugly at times, and the other proved to be more of a sports car. It sure is neat when everything is clicking and this team is flying around out there. But when one little thing goes wrong, maybe the conditions get a little adverse, it’s like the Avs just simply couldn’t deal with it. 

Losing this series will have major repercussions. In a lot of ways it feels like we witnessed the slow, painful end to one of the more fun eras in franchise history. I’m not sure where the Avalanche go from here, but I do know this is a loss that won’t be soon forgotten.