The Dallas Stars are back on the road again for their first game in the Land of 10,000 Lakes since their last game in the first round of the 2022-23 Playoffs when they sent the Minnesota Wild packing on a 4-1 in the game and a 4-2 win in the series.
This was high event at its finest, friends.
First Period
The Wild’s greatest enemy tonight was themselves and their inability to stay out of the penalty box. Yeah, the Stars had penalties called on them to, but their penalty kill is better. Or at least, it fire don all cylinders tonight.
Brandon Duhaime opened up the penalty box conga line with an interference call only 50 seconds into the game. Six seconds into the power play, Joe Pavelski scored on Miro Heiskanen’s rebound.
According to Stars PR, this was Pavelski’s 100th goal and in scoring it, he became the 9th active player to record 100 tallies with multiple teams.
Then Craig Smith took a two minute penalty for holding and instead of scoring a power play goal, the Wild fumbled a line change in their own zone and Radek Faksa scored a shorthanded goal.
With these two goals, the Stars now have a shorthanded goal and a power play goal in back to back games. The shots on goal ended up being even, all told, but it needs to be pointed out that the Wild did not actually start shooting the puck until they were already down two goals.
The Wild cut the score in half for the first time after Nils Lundkvist turned the puck over in the defensive zone. Duhaime scores on a backhander.
Even before they’d announced that goal, Matt Duchene scored his fifth goal as a Star, 14 seconds after the Duhaime tally.
Craig Smith got five for fighting with Conner Duwar, which had been brewing since a hit earlier in the period. It was very evident that Duwar was not actually ready for Smith’s right hook.
Ryan Suter took a penalty for high sticking, but the Wild were not able to do anything with it, and the Stars were not able to score another shorthanded goal.
With only 47 seconds to go in the period, Vinni Lettieri scored his second in the season.
And that was that for the first. As a reminder, the Stars power play percentage had them at 29th in the league at the start of this evening.
Shots: Stars 13, Wild 13
Goals: Stars 3, Wild 2
Second Period
Wyatt Johnston opened scoring in the middle frame with a tic-tac power play goal with Duchene and Tyler Seguin.
Marc Andre Fleury stoned both Seguin and Johnston on breakaways. Yes, he ended up letting in seven goals, but he’s also the only reason the score wasn’t 11-3.
Dewar took a penalty for holding and Evgenii Dadanov cleaned up a rebound from Johnston. For those keeping track, that’s the third power play goal of the game.
The Wild took another penalty, then the Stars took a penalty and Mats Zuccarello scored.
Duhaime sent Thomas Harley into the boards at the end of the period. He was slow to get up and a scrum erupted around him. Duhaime was given a major for boarding and a game misconduct. Harley went to the dressing room and did not return for the rest of the game.
Shots: Stars 25, Wild 21
Goals: Stars 5, Wild 3
Third Period
The Stars began the third period still on the power play for Duhaime’s major, which lead to the first of Jason Robertson’s two goals of the night.
Followed very closely by his second of the night on the same power play.
Fleury took the ever elusive goalie penalty, tripping Roope Hintz on a breakaway. The Stars did not manage to score on that advantage, but Wyatt Johnston did manage to score another shorthanded goal when Seguin went to the box for high sticking.
Shots: Stars 37, Wild 26
Goals: Stars 8, Wild 3
TL;DR
The Stars scored 1 even strength goal (concerning? No, not with this many penalties), 5 power play goals (tying a franchise record, the second time since moving to Dallas), and 2 shorthanded goals.
Pavelski set another milestone.
Fleury might have been the only skater for the Wild, sources are mixed.