NHL playoffs: Texas-sized blowout as Wild take Game 1
DALLAS – By the third period of the playoff opener between the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars, the normally-raucous American Airlines Center, on the edge of downtown Dallas, was as quiet as the wind-swept West Texas prairie. In what they hope will be a tone-setter for a playoff run of note, the Wild stunned Dallas with a 6-1 win in Game 1, sending Stars fans scrambling for the exits before the final period was half-over. Making his first-ever playoff start, rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt was superlative for the Wild, stopping 26 Dallas shots and keeping the audience quiet for much of the evening.
Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek each had a pair of goals for Minnesota, and Mats Zuccarello posted a trio of assists as the Wild grabbed home ice advantage on the best-of-seven first round series. While limiting the Stars’ time in front of Wallstedt and playing disruptor for the Dallas offense, the Wild led 1-0 after one and 4-0 by the halfway point of the game, taking the opener of a playoff series with the Stars for the second time in three years. Kirill Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman also scored for the Wild.
Quinn Hughes, who had not skated in a week and whose availability was in question as he battled an illness, had a second period assist and played more than 20 minutes. Minnesota got the game’s first power play when hulking Dallas defenseman Tyler Myers delivered an elbow to the head of Wild forward Mats Zuccarello, and the visitors cashed in on the man advantage. Matt Boldy’s pass from below the goal line found Eriksson Ek alone in the low slot.
A wrist shot beat Oettinger low on the glove side. It was Eriksson Ek’s first career playoff power play goal. After the Wild killed their first penalty of the playoffs, a near-perfect opportunity to double the lead came late in the first when Danila Yurov got open in front of Oettinger but was foiled by a left toe save.
The first period ended with the Wild again on a man-advantage, but they failed to convert. Kaprizov made it 2-0 in the opening minute of the middle frame, with a perfectly-placed shot from the far boards that found a tiny gap over Oettinger’s left shoulder. Two shifts later the building fell silent as Hartman deflected in an ankle-high pass from Brock Faber to make it 3-0.