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One of those teams 鈥� or maybe Vegas, which made a move to get Reilly Smith back 鈥� will hoist the Stanley Cup in June and have a trade or two to credit for the journey.

The Stars and Hurricanes are co-Cup favorites according to BetMGM Sportsbook after making the biggest deadline deal: Rantanen to Dallas for Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks and a third-rounder to Carolina. Rantanen has had a hat trick in each of the past two games 鈥� in Game 7 to knock out the Colorado Avalanche who traded him in late January and then .

“It鈥檚 a treat,鈥� teammate Sam Steel said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 one of the best players in the world and he鈥檚 just on fire right now, so we鈥檙e just trying to get him the puck.鈥�

Stars coach Peter DeBoer said Rantanen had an easy transition. That may be an understatement, as the 28-year-old Finn leads the postseason with eight goals and 15 points.

“We all know how elite he is,鈥� Jets winger Nino Niederreiter said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 really done it these last few games and throughout his whole career 鈥� always a fantastic player.”

That was the Hurricanes’ thinking when they sent Martin Necas, Jack Drury and two picks in an unexpected, blockbuster trade more than a month before the deadline. Avalanche president of hockey operations Joe Sakic 鈥� who drafted Rantanen with the 10th pick in 2015 鈥� heard after that move that the possibility of another trade back West was possible.

With the clock ticking toward the deadline on March 7, first-year made the most of the situation and dealt Rantanen to the Stars, who then signed him to an eight-year, $96 million extension.

Rantanen is a playoff producer (101 points in 81 games before this spring, including helping Colorado win the Cup in 2022).聽

Carolina has gotten three goals this playoffs from Stankoven and three points from Hall, while Jankowski was a big reason for a perfect penalty kill in the first round.

“They鈥檝e all helped in a lot of different ways on both sides of the puck,” captain Jordan Staal said. 鈥淭hree great players that have really kind of solidified our lineup and played really well for us.鈥�

for defending champion Florida, so far scoring at a point-a-game pace this playoffs. He and Jones felt welcomed right away.

鈥淭his team is built to want to win, and they have that drive,” Marchand said. 鈥淎nd when you walk in the room, everyone was really excited for each and every one of us to come in and be part of the group.鈥�

The Capitals got Beauvillier in part because he has had some high-scoring playoffs. He had 27 points combined over two New York Islanders trips to the Eastern Conference Final and put up five points in his first six games with Washington.

鈥淭here鈥檚 something about important games and meaningful games that get me, I guess, a little bit more fired up and get my a little bit more focused,鈥� Beauvillier said.聽

Some of the additions have been more subtle: Laughton has a couple of points and Carlo is playing important minutes for the Maple Leafs as they try to get past the second round for the first time in more than two decades. Schenn and Tanev toughened up Winnipeg, and Walman and Frederic helped the Oilers fill holes leaving last summer.

Dallas also loaded up beyond Rantanen. General manager Jim Nill’s February trade for , also involving a first-round pick, has paid dividends.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 say enough about Granlund and what he鈥檚 brought, Cody Ceci 鈥� (without them) we don鈥檛 get through the first round,鈥� DeBoer said.

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AP Sports Writers Tim Reynolds in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Aaron Beard in Raleigh, North Carolina, Stephen Hawkins in Frisco, Texas, Pat Graham in Denver and the Canadian Press contributed.

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AP NHL playoffs: and