The Dallas Stars advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs, beating the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in Game 7.Mikko Rantanen assisted on Wyatt Johnston's tiebreaking power-play goal with 3:56 left before completing a third-period hat trick with an empty-netter as the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in Game 7 on Saturday night to wrap up the first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Rantanen is the first player in NHL history to score a hat trick in the third period of a Game 7, and the first to record multiple four-point periods in a single postseason after also achieving the feat with a goal and three assists in the second period of Game 6.

For nearly two and a half periods, the Avalanche had put up a defensive wall. Rantanen busted it down with two individual efforts.