Natural Stat Trick<\/a>, and three total.<\/p>\nMinnesota scored two power-play goals, killed three, and all of the Wild\u2019s big names showed up as they took a 1-0 series lead over their bitter rival from the south.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt certainly didn\u2019t look like a playoff game from our point of view,\u201d Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t get our game going at all in the second.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Wild extended their lead from 1-0 to 4-0 by the 6:30 mark of that middle frame.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Now, the Wild have been in this position before. They\u2019ve 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\u2019s. They are 19-9 in series that they start as the home team since moving to Dallas from Minnesota in 1993-94.<\/p>\n
But teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-seven series own an all-time series record of 535-252 (.680).<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, it\u2019s one game,\u201d Zuccarello said. \u201cEvery game lives its own life. So, we\u2019re just happy to get Game 1, and now we get some rest, forget about this game and focus on the next one. It\u2019s always nice to get a win, start off positive, but just \u2026 stay even keel and try to focus on the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Game 2 is in Dallas on Monday.<\/p>\n
Wallstedt stands tall<\/p>\n
Wallstedt certainly earned the start with his play down the stretch. And the rookie rewarded the coaching staff\u2019s faith with a poised 26-save performance.<\/p>\n
The Swede wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that if you give up one or two more after that, the momentum switches pretty quick, so I had to be ready,\u201d Wallstedt said. \u201cObviously, there are some chances that ended up coming, and I thought me and the whole team were ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wallstedt had been the Wild\u2019s 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\u2019s hard to imagine Hynes going away from him for Game 2.<\/p>\n
Wallstedt found out he was starting the game after Thursday\u2019s team dinner in Dallas. He said he was surprised but, of course, hoping to play over Gustavsson.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard, because obviously we both know we are playing a role, that there\u2019s only one guy that can play, and I think that\u2019s something everyone knows, and you accept that when you decide to be a goalie,\u201d Wallstedt said. \u201cBut obviously I want him to play, and I want myself to play. Like, you want everyone to be able to play. But that\u2019s just not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaprizov-Hartman-Zuccarello come through<\/p>\n
The Wild have insisted that their perceived lack of a No. 1 center won\u2019t deter them from going far in the playoffs because of play-driving wingers Kaprizov and Zuccarello.<\/p>\n
That line connected twice at five-on-five in the first 3:28 of the game.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s team record.<\/p>\n
Kaprizov\u2019s 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\u2019t see the best of Kaprizov as he entered the playoffs coming off a significant injury and only scored one goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it feels so much better than I play against this team in last playoffs,\u201d Kaprizov said. \u201cIt feels more comfortable and, yeah, it\u2019s easy to play when you feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s set-up for a 3-0 lead.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Hughes arrives in style<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He missed the last two games and didn\u2019t skate in the morning on either of those days with the rest of the regulars scratched. He missed Thursday\u2019s practice in St. Paul, Minn., and Friday\u2019s in Dallas so he could get more rest and not potentially infect others, the Wild said.<\/p>\n
Hynes insisted that for a player who logged heavy minutes since coming to Minnesota and averaged 27:44 per game this season \u2014 more than a minute more than the Columbus Blue Jackets\u2019 Zach Werenski, who was second in the NHL \u2014 this rest could be mentally and physically refreshing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how I\u2019ve been looking at it, kind of a blessing in disguise that I got seven days off the ice at this time of the year,\u201d Hughes said after the win. \u201cProbably a little bit fatigued a little bit today, but I\u2019m sure Game 2, I\u2019m going to feel that jolt of just having a bunch of time off the ice and going forward. So, I think that\u2019s a positive for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hughes arrived in Dallas on a private jet on Friday afternoon and logged 24:30 in Game 1, assisting on Hartman\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Hughes was plus-3. It was an impressive performance for somebody who didn\u2019t skate with the team since logging nearly 30 minutes against Nashville a week earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cA week without being on the ice, not ideal, but felt good enough today,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cFelt good and probably I\u2019m going to feel better Game 2.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Eriksson Ek, \u201cHe just loves hockey and how smart he is, he just has it, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
He Otter be better<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
So you have to wonder what was running through the head of DeBoer\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
To be fair, it\u2019s hard to lay that deficit exclusively at Oettinger\u2019s feet. Eriksson Ek\u2019s goal came on the power play (as did his second, in the third period). Kaprizov\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey got some pretty fortuitous bounces on a couple of those goals,\u201d Oettinger said. \u201cWe\u2019ll get those going our way at some point in the series. They got theirs tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oettinger added that he \u201ccan make more saves\u201d and is \u201cgoing to be a lot better next game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gulutzan said after the game that he never considered pulling Oettinger from the game, saying he didn\u2019t think any of the goals were really his fault. But while each can be explained individually, taken as a whole, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>. But it\u2019s likely going to take more than just one bad night for a true goalie controversy to arise in Dallas. Gulutzan\u2019s 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.<\/p>\nHurt Hintz leaves a void<\/p>\n
Last year at this time, Heiskanen\u2019s injury status was the hottest topic of discussion surrounding the Stars. But unlike last season\u2019s playoffs, when Heiskanen didn\u2019t return from a knee injury until Game 4 of the second round, the star Stars defenseman was ready for Game 1 against Minnesota.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 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\u2019t confirmed one way or the other if Hintz might be able to go at some point in the first round, but he certainly hasn\u2019t sounded optimistic.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s and Mavrik Bourque\u2019s 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\u2019 top line.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The Robertson-Duchene-Bourque line was easily Dallas\u2019 best in Game 1, but Hintz\u2019s absence ripples throughout the lineup. The Johnston line and the Justin Hryckowian lines mustered precious little offense and were on the ice for Minnesota\u2019s three five-on-five goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DALLAS \u2014 The Minnesota Wild have a long way to go to exorcise their first-round demons, and especially…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5118],"tags":[147,5,161,38,5280,4,162],"class_list":{"0":"post-555862","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-wild","8":"tag-dallas-stars","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-minnesota","11":"tag-minnesota-wild","12":"tag-minnesotawild","13":"tag-nhl","14":"tag-wild"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116430416379047440","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}