The first goal for Dallas came at 9:11 of the second period when Hemsky found himself at the top of face-off circle and fired the puck past Devan Dubnyk, who was screened by Colton Sceviour, tying the game 1-1. The Wild took two penalties in the second period, and the Stars cashed in.
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With the Stars trailing 2-1 midway through the game, Spezza assisted on a Patrick Eaves power-play goal, then scored one of his own.
Wild players insist they have spent no time thinking about the handshake line that would signal the end of this series with a Game 5 loss. It was a play that helped give the Stars life when they needed it.
Torchetti, who took over from Mike Yeo in mid-February and likely needs his team to win a series or two to increase his chances to become the full-time coach next season, came up from the Iowa Wild with plenty of intensity and plenty of observations about his favorite game.
Venue: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn. “And they’re definitely against it now”. Hey, you know what?
“We’ve got to focus on one game”, Pominville said.
Ryan Suter: “We’re at our best when our backs are against the wall”. They can close out the best-of-seven series in Game 5 on Friday night in Dallas. Still will it be enough? Then two minutes later Matt Dumba carelessly handled the puck off the glass for a delay of game penalty.
Holtby’s brilliance combined with Washington’s special teams domination (3 for 8 on the power play and 7 for 7 on the penalty kill) has made this a lopsided series so far, but the shift in venues can often cause a change in momentum.
The team’s start looked like a continuation of Game 3. After Coyle goal, the Wild were charging hard and keeping the Stars on their heels.
“The power play, for me, is a little bit stuck between playmaking and taking shots”, Stars coach Lindy Ruff said on Tuesday. “There’s a lot of power plays, it seems like, in these playoffs”.
This week’s topic: How long will the Wild last in the playoffs? Oduya received a pass from Radek Faksa and scored his first goal of the series with a shot over Dubnyk’s glove. So why hand the Stars the man advantage?
3-2 Stars after 2….20-16 Stars on shots….
On Friday, the Stars can clinch a postseason series victory on home ice for the first time since 2008, and that’d be nice for the fans at the American Airlines Center.
The Wild went up 2-1 barely a minute later on a 2-on-1 rush to the net. Stars 2, Wild 2. Competitive fight? Sure, the Wild displayed that, too. The Stars scored on both of their chances during a three-goal second period by putting pucks on the net and getting bodies out front.
– University of Minnesota women’s hockey stars Hannah Brandt and Amanda Kessel (sister of Penguins F Phil Kessel) led the crowd in the traditional “Let’s Play Hockey” cheer before Game 4. Demers tried to get under Haula’s skin, so he turned it around on him and got him off his game. The Wild outshot the Stars 14 to 2 in the final frame. They went down, twice. However, the Wild could not get the equalizer.
The Wild could not make all of the pressure count, and at the final horn Dallas had claimed a huge win to set up a potential series clinching game on home ice. Torchetti has been calling for more crashing the net, and the Wild obliged.
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“I just want them to check, and that’s the truth”. They know what they are facing and they know what it means. You watch other teams and they’re just shooting the puck and good things happen.
