Mikko Rantanen will miss at least 1 game for the Dallas Stars after getting hurt in Olympics

By Canadian Press on February 23, 2026.

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Mikko Rantanen will miss at least one game for the Dallas Stars after returning from the Olympics, where he didn’t play in Finland’s win over Slovakia for the bronze medal because of a lower body injury.

Coach Glen Gulutzan had said after practice Monday that he wouldn’t expect Rantanen to play in the Stars’ first game after the break, and maybe the second. He said then that Rantanen was going to see a doctor.

A few hours later, the Stars placed Rantanen on the injured list. The move was was retroactive to Friday, and their leading scorer (69 points) has to be out at least a week from that point.

The Stars host Seattle on Wednesday night and are home again Saturday against Nashville. They then have a day off Sunday before road games on consecutive nights.

After getting hurt in Finland’s 3-2 loss to Canada in the Olympic semifinals on Friday night, Rantanen didn’t play in the 6-1 win over Slovakia on Saturday night.

Rantanen was among six Dallas players who brought home medals from the Olympics.

Jake Oettinger was the backup goalie for the United States team that won the gold medal with a 2-1 overtime win over Canada, which meant a silver for Stars defenseman Thomas Harley. Four Dallas players were on the Finland squad that won bronze: Rantanen, Roope Hintz, Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Associated Press