Mon, April 20, 2026 at 1:42 PM UTC
DALLAS, Tex. (WLAX/WEUX) – The Minnesota Wild opened the playoffs with a 6-1 win over the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series Saturday at American Airlines Center.
It marked Minnesota’s first Game 1 victory since April 17, 2023 — also against Dallas — while the Stars continued a troubling trend, dropping their ninth Game 1 in their past 11 playoff series.
Joel Eriksson Ek gave the Wild an early lead on the power play, starting a run of four unanswered goals. Minnesota pulled away with three goals in the second period to build a 4-0 advantage.
Jake Oettinger allowed four goals before Dallas got on the board late in the second period on Jason Robertson’s extra-skater goal. Jesper Wallstedt made 27 saves for Minnesota.
Dallas struggled to generate consistent offense and pressure, something it hopes to correct moving forward.
“It’s a long series,” defenseman Miro Heiskanen said. “We have to be better and move on.”
Game 2 is set for Monday in Dallas.
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