Dallas fought back from a Game 1 loss, seizing momentum with crucial goals and a game-saving penalty kill to tie the series.
The Dallas Stars were looking to even things up in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after getting blown out in Game 1 by a score of 6-1. Though dropping Game 1 is nearly tradition for the Stars, this series against the Minnesota Wild feels different, as this year's Wild team seems to be a different beast.
Apr 20, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley (55) and left wing Jason Robertson (21) and defenseman Nils Lundkvist (5) celebrates a goal scored by Robertson against the Minnesota Wild during the third period in game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn ImagesAhead of the game, head coach Glen Gulutzan highlighted winning battles as one of the areas he thought his team needed to work on, as well as special teams. He put Arttu Hyry in for Adam Erne for some help on defense and the penalty kill. There was an expectation for the Stars to come out hot and set a new, very different tone from Game 1 and they did.
The Stars took their first lead of the series almost half way into the first period, with the help of a little puck luck, something they did not have in Game 1. Wyatt Johnston flings the puck towards the net and the puck bounces off the back boards, off of Jesper Wallstedt and into the net. The Wild answered back quickly during 4-on-4 after Zach Bogosian and Jamie Benn get called for two penalties at the same time. Brock Faber walks through the Stars defense and goes top shelf to beat Jake Oettinger.
The Stars got a power-play at the beginning of the second frame, but the Wild killed that off. However, they would get another chance after Nick Foligno was called for elbowing Nils Lundkvist in the head. The power-play was mostly disjointed until Matt Duchene and Mikko Rantanen came into the zone together, with Rantanen dishing the puck back to Duchene who was crashing the net and beat Wallstedt to give the Stars the lead again. Chaos ensued immediately after the goal and the Wild were given a power-play to keep the march to the penalty box going for Rantanen.
Dallas kept the pressure going in the third period, looking for an insurance goal and Jason Robertson came up big to give them a two goal lead on a deflection from a Lundkvist shot. However, the Wild would not go down without a fight. Faber cuts the lead in half on a broken play that bounces off of two Stars players to Faber who is all alone.
With the game being one shot away from tied up, the Stars needed to lock down the defense, but found themselves in hot water after a too many men penalty with 3:44 left in the final frame. The Wild had been 0/3 on the power-play in Game 2 but went 2/4 in Game 1, so this kill was huge for the Stars penalty kill. The Stars were able to kill it off and in a crazy turn of events, the Wild were called for their own too many men penalty with 1:21 to go while still down a goal.
The Wild pulled Wallstedt to make it 5v5 hockey, Johnston was able to throw the puck down the ice, and for a majority of the way down the sheet, it looked like the puck was going to go wide of the net, causing Quinn Hughes to let up, only to realize the puck curved back towards the net. As the puck crosses the line, Quinn Hughes falls and slams into the boards. The Wild would not be able to answer and the Stars would win Game 2, 4-2.
The series is tied at 1-1 and will now head to Minnesota for Game 3 and 4.
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