NHL analyst warns Winnipeg Jets about 'dominating' Mikko Rantanen after Dallas Stars Game 1 win - "His playoff mojo going right now"

After the Dallas Stars' 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of the Western Conference second round, NHL analyst John Lu warned the Jets about Mikko Rantanen's strong performance. Rantanen scored a natural hat trick in the second period, leading Dallas to the win. He has been on a roll lately, with 14 points in his last four games.

On SC with Jay Onrait, Lu pointed out that the Jets struggled to match up against Rantanen. Even though Winnipeg tried to use Adam Lowry’s line to counter Dallas’s top line, Rantanen took advantage of some mismatches.

Rantanen's first goal came when he was on the ice with Sam Steel and Evgenii Dadonov from Dallas’s fourth line. The Jets’ planned matchup didn’t work, and Rantanen scored in the crease. His second goal came in a similar situation, against parts of Winnipeg’s top line and their fourth-line center.

"Both of Mikko Rantanen's five-on-five goals came with him on with two components of Dallas's fourth line, Sam Steel and Evgenii Dadonov," Lu said [1:10].

Lu stressed that the Jets need to improve their defensive coverage. With home ice advantage and last change, they should be able to control matchups. But against a player like Rantanen, they must stay alert.

"The Jets are going to have to be sharper on their details when trying to make sure that they contain Mikko Rantanen," Lu added. "And well, I mean, they Dallas has a very dominating top nine altogether, but Rantanen, and certainly he's, just like you said, He's absolutely got his playoff Mojo going right now."

Mikko Rantanen stays calm after hat trick, Peter DeBoer praises his impressive performance

Mikko Rantanen spoke about staying calm after his natural hat trick in Game 1.

“Sometimes it’s ups and downs in hockey and now it’s going well individually and as a team,” Rantanen said via NHL.com. “But it’s important in the playoffs, like I’ve said before, if you win or you have a good game never get too high. You’ve got to reset and enjoy. Enjoy it for five minutes after the game and then reset.”

Dallas coach Peter DeBoer praised Rantanen’s performance.

“Yeah, he’s rolling and he’s feeling it. Pretty impressive, what he’s doing. I mean, considering the opponent and the time of year and how he’s dominating games -- really impressive," DeBoer said.

Rantanen’s success is not just due to his skill, but also because Dallas' whole team is playing well. The Jets would like to stay sharp and make adjustments to contain Rantanen in the next games. If they don’t, he could keep dominating and make it harder for Winnipeg to win.