Dallas leads the series, which is decided in best of seven, with 3–1. After the victory, coach Pete DeBoer poured praise over his seasoned star.
The guy (Granlund) is oozing leadership. Among our Finnish players, he is something of a seasoned statesman, DeBoer said about the 33-year-old.
Granlund scored the opener in the middle of the first period when he, in numerical superiority, got the puck on his own half, fooled an opponent, and struck with a well-placed wrist shot.
After giving Dallas the lead with 2–1 in the second period, Granlund completed his hat-trick in the third act up to the final score of 3–1. Countryman Mikko Rantanen set up Granlund for his second goal of the night and is now pulling away in the playoff scoring league.
Rantanen has 19 points – two more than second-placed Connor McDavid, Edmonton, and four more than Toronto's William Nylander, who is in a shared third place.
Dallas recruited both Rantanen and Granlund mid-season. Now, the two Finnish players are showing the way as the Texas club is on its way to knock out Winnipeg, which was the best of all teams in the NHL's regular season.
Winnipeg–Dallas: 1–3
Vegas–Edmonton: 1–3
Florida–Toronto: 2–2
Washington–Carolina: 1–3
The series are decided in best of seven.
