The Dallas Stars fought valiantly last night against the Calgary Flames, even though they lost in overtime. However, the Stars just lost one of their players ahead of Tuesday night's game against the Edmonton Oilers. Mikko Rantanen will be suspended for at least a game for his brutal hit against Matt Coronato last night. Unfortunately, Rantanen will be suspended, but league rules require him to sit out a game for his actions last night. It could be more after a review, but for now, it's at least a game.
Dallas Morning News Dallas Stars Reporter Lia Assimakopoulos reported this morning that Rantanen will be out at least one game due to NHL Rule 23.6. Since Rantanen has been booted twice in the past week, he will automatically get a game for that. The NHL is allowed to add on to that if they deem it's worth more games. So Rantanen will be out at least on Tuesday night against the Oilers. The Stars have beaten the Oilers without Rantanen in the past, so I'm not too worried about Tuesday.
That's the price for being overly aggressive on the ice. Coach Glenn Gulutzan told his team during the offseason that he wanted 1% more physicality from each of them this season. However, this past week, it seems Rantanen misinterpreted that by thinking 101%. Regardless of whether you think he should be off the hook or not, his actions last night could cost the Stars two points in Edmonton as Gulutzan returns to Edmonton for the first time since being named the Dallas Stars head coach.
Looking forward to Tuesday night, Jason Robertson might get booted up to the top line with Rantanen out of the lineup. It would be smart, since he scored 10 goals in the last 6 games. Let's see if Robertson can take over Rantanen's role and step up while he serves his suspension. It's going to take everyone to take down the Oilers on Tuesday. That means the Stars need to break out the Monster Energy Drinks because the Oilers are finding ways to win games, despite their goaltending problems.
With Jake Oettinger trying to cement his status as the starting goaltender for Team USA, the Stars should have no issues stopping the Oilers. They might get some resistance from the Oilers if they end up trailing at any point in the game, but I'm sure Dallas can weather the storm without Rantanen for at least a game. Stay tuned to our social media pages on Twitter and Facebook for any updates to Rantanen's suspension length.