Matt Boldy and Wild go home with chance to clinch series after beating Stars 4-2 in Game 5
Apr 28, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy (12) looks to move the puck past Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) during the first period in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images DALLAS — Matt Boldy scored the tiebreaking power-play goal in the final minute of the second period, after having one taken away late in the first, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 4-2 on Tuesday night for a 3-2 lead in their first-round Western Conference series. Kirill Kaprizov scored an empty-net goal with two minutes left and had two assists, while Mats Zuccarello scored in his return from a three-game absence with an upper-body injury for the Wild.
Michael McCarron also had a third-period goal. The Wild go home for Game 6 on Thursday with a chance to advance to the second round for the first time since 2015. They have lost their last nine playoff series, including to Dallas in 2016 and 2023.
Jason Robertson had a goal with 3:21 left — after also scoring goals in each of the first four games — and assisted on Miro Heiskanen’s one-timer on a power play for the Stars, who made the Western Conference final each of the past three seasons. Wild rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt had 20 saves, 11 in the third period. Boldy, who had two goals in Game 1 and the overtime winner in Game 4 on a deflection Saturday, scored on a shot from the top of the circle to the left of goalie Jake Oettinger for a 2-1 lead with 32 seconds left in the second period.
Oettinger stopped 24 shots, including a sprawling save before the end of the second period. There were only 13 seconds left in the first period when Boldy knocked the puck through on a power play. Dallas won its challenge for goalie interference, with replay showing Boldy made contact on his second-effort shot.
That was the third time in two games Boldy put a puck in the net that wasn’t a goal, but he still has four goals this postseason after 42 in the regular season. In Game 4, he had a goal waved off in regulation because of goalie interference, and another discounted in overtime because he made a kicking motion at the puck. Zuccarello hadn’t played since having three assists in the Wild’s 6-1 winto open the series, when he also took an elbow to the head.