DALLAS — The Minnesota Wild have a long way to go to exorcise their first-round demons, and especially those in Dallas, where they historically struggle mightily. But if the Wild are going to advance to the second round for the first time in 11 years, Saturday’s series-opening 6-1 beatdown of the Dallas Stars is the template.

It was the Wild’s largest margin of victory in a playoff game since 2003, when they won 7-2 over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 5 of the second round.

Rookie Jesper Wallstedt, making his Stanley Cup playoffs debut after a gutsy decision by John Hynes and the coaching staff to sit veteran Filip Gustavsson, showed no nerves during a crisp performance. The Wild also helped him out, defending impeccably. They gave up one high-danger scoring chance in the first half of the game, according to Natural Stat Trick, and three total.

Minnesota scored two power-play goals, killed three, and all of the Wild’s big names showed up as they took a 1-0 series lead over their bitter rival from the south.

“It certainly didn’t look like a playoff game from our point of view,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “We couldn’t get our game going at all in the second.”

The Wild extended their lead from 1-0 to 4-0 by the 6:30 mark of that middle frame.

In the game, Joel Eriksson Ek, who missed all but one shift of the 2023 Wild-Stars series, scored twice on the power play. Kirill Kaprizov scored a goal and had two assists. Matt Boldy scored two goals and had an assist. Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist. And Mats Zuccarello picked up the third three-assist game in Wild playoff history.

Now, the Wild have been in this position before. They’ve had a series lead at some point in their past five first-round exits. And the Stars, remember, were blown out in Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche last year and still ended up in their third straight conference final and have lost nine of their past 11 Game 1’s. They are 19-9 in series that they start as the home team since moving to Dallas from Minnesota in 1993-94.

But teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-seven series own an all-time series record of 535-252 (.680).

“Honestly, it’s one game,” Zuccarello said. “Every game lives its own life. So, we’re just happy to get Game 1, and now we get some rest, forget about this game and focus on the next one. It’s always nice to get a win, start off positive, but just … stay even keel and try to focus on the next one.”

Game 2 is in Dallas on Monday.

Wallstedt stands tall

Wallstedt certainly earned the start with his play down the stretch. And the rookie rewarded the coaching staff’s faith with a poised 26-save performance.

The Swede wasn’t tested a ton in the first half of the game, and the Wild gave him a 4-0 lead. But Wallstedt made some timely saves, including on Miro Heiskanen and Mikko Rantanen rush chances in the first.

His biggest saves came late in the second, though, after the Stars had scored to make it 4-1. Wallstedt made a key stop on Jamie Benn following a Kaprizov turnover. A few minutes later, he played a two-on-one perfectly, getting his glove on a shot by Wyatt Johnston.

“I know that if you give up one or two more after that, the momentum switches pretty quick, so I had to be ready,” Wallstedt said. “Obviously, there are some chances that ended up coming, and I thought me and the whole team were ready for it.”

Wallstedt had been the Wild’s hot hand down the stretch, allowing two goals or fewer in eight of his last nine regular-season starts. And with the way he played on Saturday, it’s hard to imagine Hynes going away from him for Game 2.

Wallstedt found out he was starting the game after Thursday’s team dinner in Dallas. He said he was surprised but, of course, hoping to play over Gustavsson.

“It’s hard, because obviously we both know we are playing a role, that there’s only one guy that can play, and I think that’s something everyone knows, and you accept that when you decide to be a goalie,” Wallstedt said. “But obviously I want him to play, and I want myself to play. Like, you want everyone to be able to play. But that’s just not the case.”

Kaprizov-Hartman-Zuccarello come through

The Wild have insisted that their perceived lack of a No. 1 center won’t deter them from going far in the playoffs because of play-driving wingers Kaprizov and Zuccarello.

That line connected twice at five-on-five in the first 3:28 of the game.

After Zuccarello bumped the puck up to Hartman at the offensive blue line after a tremendous breakout by Brock Faber, Hartman crossed a pass to Kaprizov. Johnston and Rantanen got confused on the entry, hanging defenseman Thomas Harley out to dry. As Harley played the pass, Kaprizov had open ice to skate toward Jake Oettinger and sniped it for his 16th career playoff goal, tying Zach Parise’s team record.

Kaprizov’s 0.62 goals per game in his playoff career (16 goals in 26 games) rank sixth in Stanley Cup playoff history (minimum 10 games). In 2023, the Stars didn’t see the best of Kaprizov as he entered the playoffs coming off a significant injury and only scored one goal.

“Yeah, it feels so much better than I play against this team in last playoffs,” Kaprizov said. “It feels more comfortable and, yeah, it’s easy to play when you feel good.”

One shift later, Hartman, who ended the season on a heater with seven goals and 12 points in his final nine games, went to the backdoor and redirected Faber’s set-up for a 3-0 lead.

Boldy, who scored five goals last postseason, made it 4-0 for three goals in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the second period.

Hughes arrives in style

There was a bit of fret from Wild fans over the past week with all-world defenseman Quinn Hughes not seen or heard from, with what Hynes called an illness.

He missed the last two games and didn’t skate in the morning on either of those days with the rest of the regulars scratched. He missed Thursday’s practice in St. Paul, Minn., and Friday’s in Dallas so he could get more rest and not potentially infect others, the Wild said.

Hynes insisted that for a player who logged heavy minutes since coming to Minnesota and averaged 27:44 per game this season — more than a minute more than the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski, who was second in the NHL — this rest could be mentally and physically refreshing.

“That’s how I’ve been looking at it, kind of a blessing in disguise that I got seven days off the ice at this time of the year,” Hughes said after the win. “Probably a little bit fatigued a little bit today, but I’m sure Game 2, I’m going to feel that jolt of just having a bunch of time off the ice and going forward. So, I think that’s a positive for me.”

Hughes arrived in Dallas on a private jet on Friday afternoon and logged 24:30 in Game 1, assisting on Hartman’s second-period goal. It was his 25th assist in 31 playoff games to tie Brian Leetch for the third-fewest games to hit the mark among defensemen in NHL history.

Hughes was plus-3. It was an impressive performance for somebody who didn’t skate with the team since logging nearly 30 minutes against Nashville a week earlier.

“A week without being on the ice, not ideal, but felt good enough today,” Hughes said. “Felt good and probably I’m going to feel better Game 2.”

Added Eriksson Ek, “He just loves hockey and how smart he is, he just has it, I think.”

He Otter be better

The last time Oettinger played in a playoff game, it went so poorly that Dallas head coach Pete DeBoer got himself fired over it. The Edmonton Oilers beat Oettinger on their first two shots of Game 5 of the Western Conference final, prompting DeBoer to pull his star goaltender after barely seven minutes, and then throw him under the bus in the postgame press conference.

So you have to wonder what was running through the head of DeBoer’s replacement, Gulutzan, after the Wild beat Oettinger three times in the first 6:30 of the second period on Saturday to make it 4-0.

To be fair, it’s hard to lay that deficit exclusively at Oettinger’s feet. Eriksson Ek’s goal came on the power play (as did his second, in the third period). Kaprizov’s goal was a high short-side snipe that only a handful of players in the world can make. Hartman scored on a deflection in front. And Boldy out-hustled and out-muscled Harley to a rebound on the left side of the goalmouth for his non-empty-netter.

“They got some pretty fortuitous bounces on a couple of those goals,” Oettinger said. “We’ll get those going our way at some point in the series. They got theirs tonight.”

Oettinger added that he “can make more saves” and is “going to be a lot better next game.”

Gulutzan said after the game that he never considered pulling Oettinger from the game, saying he didn’t think any of the goals were really his fault. But while each can be explained individually, taken as a whole, it’s an alarming start for Oettinger, who is supposed to be the most obvious advantage Dallas has against a Wild team that chose a rookie to start because its veteran goalie was struggling so mightily.

Oettinger had a middling season, well below his usual standards. His .899 save percentage was the lowest of his career, though his goals saved above expected was a solid 23.1, good enough for 17th in the league, per Evolving-Hockey. But it’s likely going to take more than just one bad night for a true goalie controversy to arise in Dallas. Gulutzan’s other option is veteran Casey DeSmith, who has just five playoff appearances in his career, including his two relief appearances last spring. And in his most recent game, last week against Toronto, he gave up five goals on 27 shots.

Hurt Hintz leaves a void

Last year at this time, Heiskanen’s injury status was the hottest topic of discussion surrounding the Stars. But unlike last season’s playoffs, when Heiskanen didn’t return from a knee injury until Game 4 of the second round, the star Stars defenseman was ready for Game 1 against Minnesota.

It’s another Finn whose absence is sorely felt. Roope Hintz, expected back before the end of the regular season from a lower-body injury suffered in early March, had a setback and now could miss the entire first round. Gulutzan hasn’t confirmed one way or the other if Hintz might be able to go at some point in the first round, but he certainly hasn’t sounded optimistic.

Dallas has plenty of forward depth, but the dynamic two-way center is a linchpin of the lineup. Without him centering the second line, Matt Duchene had to move up from the third line to serve as Jason Robertson’s and Mavrik Bourque’s center. Partly as a result of the musical chairs, suddenly journeyman Sam Steel, who scored a career-high 12 goals this season, is on Dallas’ top line.

It’s a big hole in what, when healthy, is an almost unmatched top nine. Robertson and Hintz played to a 31-14 scoring edge at five-on-five this season, with a 57.63 percent expected-goals share. Robertson and Duchene have played to a more modest 9-7 scoring edge, with a 53.38 percent expected-goals share.

The Robertson-Duchene-Bourque line was easily Dallas’ best in Game 1, but Hintz’s absence ripples throughout the lineup. The Johnston line and the Justin Hryckowian lines mustered precious little offense and were on the ice for Minnesota’s three five-on-five goals.