DALLAS (AP) — The intensity level between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild reached playoff heights with their first-round Western Conference series still a week away.
The Central Division rivals, who have already secured their playoff matchup, delivered a physical preview of what’s to come in the postseason during Dallas’ 5-4 victory Thursday night.
“That’s probably exactly what you’re going to expect. Guys finishing hits, taking hits to make plays,” said Jason Robertson, who netted his 42nd goal of the season with 9:25 remaining to secure the win for Dallas.
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan agreed with the assessment. “You knew there was going to be some emotion in the game. They’ve been trying to hunt us down for months, and it’s given them some fuel,” he said.
Dallas rallied from a two-goal deficit thanks to contributions from Wyatt Johnston, Mikko Rantanen, and Colin Blackwell, who each recorded a goal and assist. The victory pushes the Stars to 106 points, establishing a four-point lead over Minnesota for home-ice advantage in their upcoming series. Both clubs have three regular-season contests remaining before the playoffs begin.
The physical nature of the game was evident in the penalty statistics, with officials calling 12 roughing infractions — split evenly between the teams — along with numerous other altercations involving multiple players.
“Every time these two teams play each other it always is a hard-fought battle,” said Wild coach John Hynes, whose squad saw its four-game winning streak come to an end. “You saw some emotion in the game, and I think that is to be expected.”
Dallas will face only Eastern Conference opponents in their remaining games, beginning with Saturday’s home finale against the New York Rangers before traveling to Toronto. The Stars conclude the regular season at Buffalo, which has ended a franchise-record 14 seasons without playoff qualification.
Minnesota’s schedule keeps them in the Western Conference, starting with a road game at Nashville and finishing at home versus Anaheim — both teams still battling for playoff positioning. The Wild will also visit St. Louis between those contests.
Kirill Kaprizov led Minnesota’s offensive attack with two power-play goals, bringing his season total to 45 and tying his franchise record with 19 power-play tallies.
Kaprizov gave the Wild a 2-1 advantage with 16 seconds left in the opening period, scoring just 14 seconds into the man advantage. He extended Minnesota’s lead to 3-1 in the second period with another quick power-play strike, finding the net only 16 seconds into the penalty.
After Dallas tied the game, Ryan Hartman’s power-play goal with nine seconds remaining in the middle frame put Minnesota ahead 4-3.
However, the Wild couldn’t hold their lead. They suffered their first regulation defeat since March 2024 when leading entering the final period, ending a remarkable 61-0-4 record in such situations.
Minnesota had one final opportunity to tie the game after Rantanen took a slashing penalty with 2½ minutes left, but couldn’t convert even after pulling goaltender Filip Gustavsson for an extra attacker.
“How we played, we should have gotten a better result. I felt like we were playing very good,” Gustavsson said. “We went 2-2 against them.”
The season series between these teams began with Dallas winning 5-2 in their home opener on October 14. Minnesota captured both games on their home ice, winning 5-2 on December 11 and taking a 2-1 overtime decision on March 21.
The Stars may face a significant concern heading into the playoffs after defenseman Miro Heiskanen left the game with a lower-body injury following a hard check into the boards by Hartman late in the first period.
Gulutzan had no immediate update on Heiskanen’s condition but indicated the defenseman would miss the next game. “We’ll have him looked at tomorrow and the next day,” said Gulutzan when asked about potential playoff availability. “Honestly, I don’t know, but any time there’s an injury, especially your top guys, it’s concerning.”
