There was some big news that broke ahead of today's bronze medal game between Finland and Slovakia. Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen was ruled out of the game due to a lower-body injury. That's something that could derail the Stars' postseason plans for a long playoff run, depending on whether he's out for the remainder of the season. Even though he was out of the lineup, Finland beat Slovakia 6-1 to win the bronze medal.
With Finland winning this afternoon's game, six Stars' players will be guaranteed a medal. That's pretty impressive for one franchise. While we don't know if the Stars will have the highest medal count among all NHL teams, six players coming home with medals is something to celebrate. The only two players left in the Olympics are Thomas Harley and Jake Oettinger. They will face off tomorrow to decide which one gets gold or silver. Here are the four takeaways from today's game against Slovakia.
Team Finland vs. Team Slovakia Recap: 4. Miro the Hero, handing out an apple
Miro Heiskanen decided to make a difference today by earning a secondary assist on the first goal of the game for Finland. That's the Miro that all Stars fans know and love. Even though Miro hasn't been a primary goalscorer for Dallas or Finland in the Olympics, he does all the little things you don't think of. At least he's not coming back hurt and should be ready for Wednesday's game against the Seattle Kraken. Even though he came away with the bronze medal in Italy, he's won the gold medal from Stars fans.
Team Finland vs. Team Slovakia Recap: 2. Roope Hintz scare
Roope Hintz got hit hard along the boards in the second period. Luckily, our Ace of Spades was able to make it back to the bench under his own power. With the recent news of Rantanen being injured, we don't need another Finnish Mafia member on the IR. While the Texas Stars are finding their stride on offense, I don't want to be calling up players for the first game back. Although it looks like it might happen, it's not something the Stars need to deal with during this crucial stretch of the season.
Team Finland vs. Team Slovakia Recap: 2. Dallas bringing home hardware
With Finland winning the bronze medal today, all six remaining Stars players will be coming home with a medal. Esa Lindell, Miro Heiskanen, Mikko Rantanen, and Roope Hintz will be bringing home the bronze medal. Depending on who wins tomorrow's game between Canada and the United States, Jake Oettinger or Thomas Harley will win the gold, with the other winning silver. Nothing like seeing the Stars succeed in Italy. However, the Stars might be in some hot water with injuries now.
Team Finland vs. Team Slovakia Recap: 1. Mikko's injury
One thing Stars fans will be keeping an eye on this upcoming week is whether Mikko Rantanen will be back this season. It didn't look so good when Tom Wilson and he got tangled up along the boards in the third period. I'll be interested to see how long he's out, because the Stars might be able to put him on the SELTIR to free up more money than Tyler Seguin. That's only if the Stars think that Seguin could be back around the end of the regular season.