Down 3-1 in the series, the Wild faces a daunting task of having to win three consecutive games, including two in Dallas, against the Western Conference’s top seed. The Wild demonstrated their value in the first period, playing the kind of physical hockey that John Torchetti wanted his team playing against the sublimely skilled Stars. But things didn’t quite break Minnesota’s way, and this was a series where things were going to have to be flawless for the Wild to pull off the upset. There just didn’t seem to be any fight left in the Wild, and the series lacked the intensity that was there in every other series being played.
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The Wild went up 2-1 barely a minute later after a two-on-one rush to the net. Spezza said about the first power play goal Dallas scored.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) With a determined victory in Minnesota’s deafening arena, the Dallas Stars picked up a valuable souvenir for the trip home.
Then, Jason Spezza made it 2-0 with a goal in the second half of the period.
But again, another penalty would give the lead right back to the Stars.
It was not pretty, but they’re not always supposed to be. Dallas eventually did get set up, and Ales Hemsky was able to score through a Colton Sceviour screen to tie the game at 1.
The Wild have been, by far, the most unpredictable team in the National Hockey League this season. Minnesota jumped out to a big shot lead before Dallas started applying pressure about midway through the first.
The Wild dominated the third period, as Dallas was content to defend its lead. Haula has 10 goals and 14 assists in 30 games including the playoffs under Torchetti, who replaced Mike Yeo in mid-February.
With Tyler Seguin ruled out for Game 5, it will be interesting to see how Ruff ices his lines now that he now has the line matching advantage. Dallas LW Jamie Benn missed practice Tuesday, but coach Lindy Ruff insisted it was for maintenance reasons only. Historically, Benn has played significantly better when away from Cody Eakin – and when next to Spezza he has been absolutely dominant, albeit in a much smaller sample size.
With one goal scored by Jason Demers and another instigated by Kris Russell, the Stars’ defensemen had offense on the brain last night, and it’s been shown time and time again that when the Stars’ defensemen get in on the action, good things happen for Dallas. It would have been more encouraging to see a more aggressive approach by the Stars in the third period, although it’s hard to argue against the result.
The Wild, behind six points from the Nino Niederreiter-Haula-Pominville line, won a Game 3 for the seventh time in the past eight series.
“We don’t make it easy on ourselves”. The third member of the trio has differed at times, but the previously quiet Pominville has been right at home on the right wing with these two.
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For any team with aspirations of a long postseason run, games like this one can bring a group of players together better than any home blowout.
