Minnesota Wild inch closer to first series win since 2015

DALLAS – The Minnesota Wild are now one win away from advancing to the second round for the first time in more than a decade.

And they find themselves in that position after stifling one of the NHL’s best offenses in a 4-2 victory Tuesday over the Dallas Stars in Game 5 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

The series resumes Thursday in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the Wild will have the first of two attempts to win a playoff series since their last attempt in 2015, when they beat the St. Louis Blues in six games before losing in the second round to the Chicago Blackhawks.

“I think those are the guys we have here now,” said Wild forward Marcus Foligno, who has been with the franchise since 2017. “I think it’s a little different.

Opening the series with a 6-1 win was huge for several reasons. This gave the Wild the upper hand and their first playoff series opener since 2023. Additionally, it also showed that the Wild could generate and capitalize on scoring chances, a sign of growth from a team that had previously struggled to do both in previous playoff trips.

The way they stuck with the Stars, who reached three straight Western Conference finals, in back-to-back overtimes in Games 3 and 4 also reinforced their comfort in tight situations.

What they accomplished on Tuesday is just the latest example of how this iteration of Wild appears to be quite different from previous versions. Their aggressive backcheck and oppressive forecheck allowed them to find multiple ways to thwart the Stars’ offense that finished the regular season in the top 10 in goals per game.

Overall, the Wild are now one game away from the second round, while also raising the question of whether they are serious about challenging the power dynamics in the West.

“The players made the decision that was important to them, they understand what their missions are and their attention to detail is strong,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “Through programming, you watch [Kirill] Kaprizov and [Matt] Bold, for example or [Quinn Hughes] where they are offensive and you see it, but their commitment to defending is as important to them as playing offense. »

Mats Zuccarello, who returned to the lineup after missing the last three games with an upper-body injury, got his team off to a fast start by scoring the first goal just over four minutes into the first period. Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger made the initial save, but the rebound from that save went to an open Zuccarello.

The Stars tied it midway through the first period when Miro Heiskanen scored on a power play goal that ultimately became one of the few chances the Wild would allow.

Natural Stat Trick metrics showed that the Stars’ shooting share in a 5-on-5 game was 61.18%, meaning they controlled possession. The mismatch, however, was how the Wild consistently tracked any Stars player who possessed the puck, in addition to how they positioned themselves in front of the puck.

How effective were the Wild at getting in front of the puck? They finished with 26 blocked shots which complemented rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt with 20 saves.

Dallas’ frustrations extended to another too-many-skating penalty that led to Boldy firing a wrist shot for his fourth goal of the playoffs and a 2-1 lead with 30.7 seconds left in the period.

Boldy’s late period salvo, while it gave his team the lead, wasn’t the most damning aspect of how the period ended for the Stars.

The Stars were trying to come back strong at the dawn of a third period which had not seen them score a goal at 5 on 5 for almost 198 minutes.

“We’re comfortable at 5-on-5,” Wild defenseman Brock Faber said. “They’re going to have spurts, too. They’re going to have spurts where they dominate us 5-on-5. We have to fight them off and do what we do.”

McCarron, whom the Wild acquired before the trade deadline, pushed the lead to 3-1 with 12:13 left in the third for a goal that would force Stars coach Glen Gulutzan to possibly take a more aggressive approach.

Gulutzan pulled Oettinger with about four minutes left to create a 6-on-5 that would see Jason Robertson cut the lead to 3-2 with 3:21 left.

The comeback attempt, however, was short-lived, with Kaprizov battling Heiskanen for a loose puck that would allow him to score into an empty net to double the lead to 4-2 and secure a victory heading into the second round.

With four goals against the Stars, the Wild will enter Wednesday third in the NHL in goals per game in the playoffs. Allowing 2.60 goals per game means they are also a top-five unit in terms of how well their defensive structure has worked in tandem with Wallstedt.

This all adds up to the fact that the Wild appear to be one of the most complete teams in the NHL as they are now past the halfway point of the first round.

“I think we try to be in this position every year,” said Zuccarello, who has been with the Wild since 2019. “I think it’s important to stay calm and not overthink it and read everything you have to say about us not being out of the first round in a few years.

“It’s going to be some tough games coming up and these guys are going to be ready. … It’s not going to be easy.”