Game Recap: Stars Secure Two Points In Wild Divisional Matchup

It wasn’t pretty. It was far from perfect. It was hectic. But in the end, it was a 7-4 win for the Stars at American Airlines Center on Monday. In what was now their last game until after Christmas, due to the league-wide COVID shutdown, Dallas was able to knock off the division-leading Minnesota Wild in interesting fashion.

It didn’t take long for the Stars to get on the board as the top line once again struck early when Joe Pavelski scored from in tight just 90 seconds into the contest. Then, only two minutes later, Minnesota looked to respond as Denis Gurianov was sent to the box for interference.

That would not be the story, however, as Esa Lindell stole a puck and raced down the left wing before sliding a shot through the five-hole of Cam Talbot to give the Stars a 2-0 lead. The tally marked the first shorthanded goal that Minnesota has given up all season long and was the first of many against Talbot, who struggled all night.

The remainder of the period was fairly even but the Wild seemed to be gaining ground as the game went on. Ryan Hartman scored off a nice pass from Kirill Kaprizov a few minutes after Lindell’s goal and then Kevin Fiala tied the game with 5 minutes remaining in the frame.

Instead of being shell-shocked and sitting back, however, Dallas responded immediately when Tyler Seguin recorded his first goal in six games, capping off an excellent rush from Denis Gurianov. The goal was just one of many eye-catching plays from that line as Benn, Seguin, and Gurianov played one of their best games all season.

"Roope's been doing a hell of a job for us, and we need three lines to partake to try to help out the best they can," said Stars captain Jamie Benn. "One goal can go a long way with your confidence and now we got to sit on that for five days here."

A power-play goal from Roope Hintz gave the Stars another two-goal lead midway through the second period and the game seemed to be hovering on the edge of becoming a blowout. Dallas was unable to increase their lead, however, and Kaprisov made them pay, catching Jake Oettinger by surprise with a low-angle shot after a broken play in the Stars zone.

Heading into the third period, the game was now up for grabs and would come down to whoever was going to come out and take it.

That team was the Dallas Stars. Two goals in the first three minutes of the period from Jacob Peterson and Miro Heiskanen quickly shut the door on the Wild, giving Dallas a commanding 6-3 lead. While the remainder of the game was intriguing, with Minnesota pulling Talbot with over 9 minutes remaining and eventually scoring a power-play goal to cut the lead to 6-4, Dallas eventually walked away with a satisfying and well-earned 7-4 victory.

"We wanted to pay them back for the game we had in Minnesota and we wanted to come out hard, and we did that," Stars head coach Rick Bowness said. "We wanted to come out hard in the third period. It was a one-goal game, and we were going after them. We did and I was happy with that. I don't like giving up four goals, but they're a very good hockey team over there. It was a hell of a hockey game."

The Stars will be off for the next five days due to the NHL shutting down the league until after the holiday break. Their next game is scheduled for Monday, Dec 27 at home against the Nashville Predators.

For now, they will get to enjoy a relaxing holiday with their families as the whole league hopes for an improvement in the ongoing COVID-19 situation.