On Monday night, the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild kicked off a home-and-home series at the Xcel Energy Center. The Stars visited the Wild first, and then the former returned to the American Airlines Center to host the latter. After the series, Dallas…, while Minnesota… Read on for further details.
Monday, January 8 at 7:00 p.m. Central
The Stars were in St. Paul, Minnesota, to take on the Wild. The Stars shutout the Wild 4-0 on the road.
The Stars’ starting lineup featured Joe Pavelski, Joel Hanley, Jason Robertson, Thomas Harley, Roope Hintz, and Matt Murray. Murray stopped all 23 shots he faced. Wild goalie Marc-André Fleury made 16 saves in a losing effort.
The Stars opened the first-period scoring. Roope Hintz scored a short-handed goal off a pass from Tyler Seguin to give the Stars a 1-0 lead at 9:16 of the first period. Seguin collected the lone assist on Hintz’s 16th goal of the season.
The Stars led the Wild 1-0 at the end of the first. Minnesota outshot Dallas 12-4 after 20 minutes. Dallas couldn’t avoid the penalty box and achieve second-period scoring. Jason Robertson was called for tripping against Adam Raska at 8:31 of the second period.
The Stars held a 1-0 lead over the Wild at the end of the second. Minnesota outshot Dallas 21-12 through 40 minutes. The Stars opened the third-period scoring with an arguable insurance goal. Tyler Seguin fired a wrist shot that trickled into the Wild’s net for a 2-0 lead at 1:28 of the third period. A referee initially waived Seguin’s goal for crossing the line, but the NHL’s front office sounded the horn for a good one. Esa Lindell collected the lone assist on Seguin’s 15th of the season. Seguin has eight points (five goals and three assists) over his last five games.
The Stars tripled the lead. Radek Faksa scored a short-handed goal on a snap shot to up the Stars’ lead to 3-0 at 8:22 of the third period. Sam Steel collected the assist on Faksa’s third of the season.
The Stars put the game out of reach. Jason Robertson capitalized on the man advantage and blasted a wrist shot into the Wild’s net for a power-play goal to make it a 4-0 game at 9:57 of the third period. Jamie Benn and Roope Hintz collected the assists on Robertson’s 14th of the season.
The Stars won by a final score of 4-0 in regulation. As a result, Matt Murray got his first career NHL shutout. Minnesota outshot Dallas 23-20 after a full 60 minutes.
Three Stars of the Game
1. Tyler Seguin (2 points: 1 goal and 1 assist)
2. Roope Hintz (2 points: 1 goal and 1 assist)
3. Matt Murray (1.000 SV%)
Wednesday, January 10 at 6:30 p.m. Central
The Stars were in Dallas, Texas, to welcome the Wild. Sam Steel helped the Stars score a touchdown against the Wild and win 7-2 at home.
The Stars’ starting lineup featured Jani Hakanpää, Tyler Seguin, Esa Lindell, Matt Duchene, Mason Marchment, and Scott Wedgewood. Wedgewood made 21 saves for a win. Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt made 27 saves in a losing effort in his much-anticipated NHL debut.
The Stars had a home-ice advantage and drew first blood. A Jason Robertson shot led to an early goal, but it was called for offside. It was an unassisted Joe Pavelski goal, his 16th of the season, on a wrist shot. The Stars took a 1-0 lead at 16:45 of the first period. The Stars led the Wild 1-0 at the end of the first. Dallas edged Minnesota in shots 8-6 after 20 minutes.
The Stars continued to succeed. Matt Duchene fired a snap shot into the Wild’s net to give the Stars a 2-0 lead at 4:28 of the second period. Ryan Suter and Nils Lundkvist collected the assists on Duchene’s 12th of the season. Roope Hintz added a snap shot of his own to extend the Stars’ lead to 3-0 at 14:59 of the second. Mason Marchment and Esa Lindell collected the assists on Hintz’s 17th of the season.
The Stars carried a 3-0 lead to the locker room at the end of two periods. Dallas outshot Minnesota 24-9 through 40 minutes. Minnesota finally got on the board and ended the Stars’ bid for a shutout. Matt Boldy deflected a shot into the Stars’ net to cut the lead to 3-1 at 4:22 of the third period. Brock Faber and Joel Eriksson Ek collected the assists on Boldy’s 14th of the season.
The Stars expanded the lead with back-to-back goals. Jason Robertson blasted a wrist shot into the Wild’s net to expand the Stars’ lead to 4-1 at 8:05 of the third period. Esa Lindell collected the lone assist on Robertson’s 15th of the season. Nils Lundkvist scored a wrist shot goal to make it a 5-1 game at 9:26 of the third. Radek Faksa collected the lone assist on Lundkvist’s first of the season.
Minnesota capitalized on the man advantage. Ryan Hartman scored a power-play goal on a snap shot to cut the Stars’ lead to 5-2 at 11:03 of the third period. Mats Zuccarello and Matt Boldy collected the assists on Hartman’s 12th of the season.
The Stars scored a touchdown to humble the Wild and spoil Jesper Wallstedt’s NHL debut as a goalie. Tyler Seguin scored a wrist shot goal that helped the Stars to a 6-2 lead at 16:12 of the third period. Mason Marchment collected the lone assist on Seguin’s 16th of the season. Sam Steel added a snap shot goal to help the Stars to a 7-2 lead at 18:17 of the third. Esa Lindell and Craig Smith collected the assists on Steel’s fourth of the season.
The Stars maintained a touchdown to beat the Wild 7-2 in regulation. Dallas outshot Minnesota 34-23 after a full 60 minutes.
Three Stars of the Game
1. Nils Lundkvist (2 points: 1 goal and 1 assist)
2. Esa Lindell (3 points: 3 assists)
3. Mason Marchment (2 points: 2 assists)
Up Next
The Stars will host the Nashville Predators on Friday, January 12, at 7:00 p.m. Central.
