Roope Hintz and Jake Oettinger starred in the Dallas Stars' first-round series victory over the Minnesota Wild. Dallas eliminated Minnesota in six games.
Roope Hintz and Jake Oettinger starred in the Dallas Stars' first-round series victory over the Minnesota Wild. Dallas eliminated Minnesota in six games.
The Dallas Stars are the second team in the Western Conference to advance to Round 2 of the NHL playoffs.
Dallas defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-1 in Game 6 to clinch a 4-2 series victory on Friday night.
Stars center Roope Hintz finished a dominant Round 1 with his league-leading 12th point of the playoffs, while netminder Jake Oettinger allowed only one goal between the third period of Game 4 and the series finale.
The Wild didn’t have much of an answer for the Stars on Friday. Hintz made it 1-0 Dallas with his fifth goal of the playoffs just more than six minutes into the game. The Stars took full control in the second period, with 19-year-old rookie Wyatt Johnston recording his first-career NHL playoff goal. Mason Marchment got in on the action late in the frame, scoring a breakaway goal on Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson with 0.5 seconds left.
That marked the end of Gustavsson’s night, stopping 23 of 26 shots for a .885 save percentage. Marc-Andre Fleury made his second appearance of this year’s playoffs, looking to avenge his seven goals against in Game 2.
Minnesota did make it interesting in the third period, however. They outshot Dallas in the period, and Frederick Gaudreau scored his third goal of the playoffs to cut the Stars lead to two.
That’s all Minnesota could muster up. Max Domi scored his first of the post-season with the empty-netter, sealing the deal on a first-round series with a handful of storylines.
Gustavsson versus Oettinger was the story in Game 1's double-overtime thriller. Oettinger carried over his elite playoff performance from 2021-22, stopping 45 of 48 shots. But Gustavsson had the last laugh, turning aside 51 of 53 shots as his teammate Ryan Hartman scored to give the Wild a 3-2 win and 1-0 series lead.
Gustavsson's reward for a strong Game 1 effort was a surprising rest in Game 2. Minnesota coach Dean Evason turned to 38-year-old Fleury, and it didn't work out. The Stars came out with a 7-3 victory, as Hintz recorded a hat trick while blueliner Miro Heiskanen notched four assists.
A back-and-forth start to the series continued in Game 3, as it was Minnesota's turn to win in a blowout. Ryan Hartman had a goal and two assists, while Mats Zuccarello scored twice in a 5-1 Wild victory.
Minnesota alternate captain Marcus Foligno racked up 35 penalty minutes in Round 1, but two of those minutes were pivotal in Game 4. In a controversial decision, Foligno was called for tripping Mason Marchment in the third period. Tyler Seguin scored on the power play to give Dallas a 3-1 lead, which stood up as the game-winner. Foligno was not happy after the game, criticizing the call.
Foligno caught the attention of the refs early in Game 5, getting sent off with a major penalty and game misconduct for kneeing Radek Faksa. Dallas scored on the power play and added three more goals throughout the match, while Oettinger turned aside 27 shots for the 4-0 shutout. The Stars only needed one more win to advance.
Oettinger's shutout streak continued until 7:07 left in Friday's Game 6. He still made 22 saves for a .957 save percentage en route to eliminating the Wild with a third straight win.
Minnesota thus exits the 2023 NHL playoffs with a fourth straight loss in the first round. The Wild lost in six games to the St. Louis Blues in 2022, bowed out in seven matches to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2021 and couldn't even win the 2020 qualifying round against the Vancouver Canucks. They just could not escape the NHL's mushy middle, raising questions about what direction the Wild will take this off-season.
The Stars won their first playoff series since the 2020 bubble playoffs when they advanced to the Cup final before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. They will look to continue their hot streak against either the Colorado Avalanche or Seattle Kraken in Round 2.