WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Mikko Rantanen had a natural hat trick in the second period, Jake Oettinger stopped 30 shots and the Dallas Stars beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the second-round series.
Rantanen, who had a hat trick in the third period of the Stars' Game 7 win over his former Colorado teammates, is the third player in NHL history — and the first in nearly 40 years — with hat tricks in consecutive playoff games.
Edmonton's Jari Kurri accomplished the feat in Games 5 and 6 of the 1985 Campbell Conference final, and Chicago's Doug Bentley did the same in Games 4 and 5 of the 1944 Stanley Cup Final.
''Sometimes it goes that way,'' said Rantanen, acquired from Carolina at the trade deadline. ''The third goal goes off them and goes five—hole. Or when you're going through a tough stretch, you feel like you could only pray for those and those never come."
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night in Winnipeg.
Nino Niederreiter and Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets, who had won four in a row at Canada Life Centre. Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves.
Scheifele returned after sustaining an upper-body injury in Game 5 in the first round against St. Louis. Dallas forward Jason Robertson was back after injuring a knee in the final game of the regular season.
The Jets led the NHL with 116 points to earn home-ice advantage through the playoffs, while Dallas was second in the Central Division and third in the Western Conference with 106.