Home HOCKEY NHL Stars Hold Off Wild 4-2 to Even Playoff Series Before Minnesota Trip

Stars Hold Off Wild 4-2 to Even Playoff Series Before Minnesota Trip

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Stars beat Wild to tie series as Johnston scores twice

Stars beat Wild 4-2 to tie series 1-1. Johnston scored twice, Oettinger made 28 saves, Faber had first career multi-goal game.


Dallas evens series with 4-2 Game 2 win. Duchene scored PPG, Robertson added goal, Heiskanen hit 50 playoff assists...


Dallas secured a 4-2 victory over Minnesota on Monday night, knotting their playoff matchup at one game apiece before Game 3.

 
Historically, home teams that split the first two games advance 55% of the time, compared to 45% for road teams.


Minnesota will host the next two games, with Game 3 set for April 22 and Game 4 for April 25.






Game Breakdown

The Wild earned the game’s first major chance with a power play 4:17 in, but couldn’t convert. Dallas responded by punishing the missed opportunity.

  
Wyatt Johnston broke the deadlock to give Dallas a 1-0 lead, an advantage that lasted only a few minutes.




With his eighth career playoff game-opening goal, Johnston tied Jere Lehtinen for second in Stars history, trailing only franchise leader Mike Modano with 13.


The lead was short-lived, as Brock Faber leveled the score 1-1 just two minutes later with his first goal of the postseason.

 
Nick Foligno was whistled for elbowing on the second period’s first penalty, giving Dallas a chance to go back in front.




Matt Duchene converted on the power play to make it 2-1, the only goal scored by either team in the second period.


With an assist on the goal, Miro Heiskanen became the third-fastest non-US defenseman to reach 50 career playoff assists, behind only Sergei Zubov (80 games) and Sandis Ozolinsh (81 games).


Following Duchene’s goal, the two sides combined for eight more penalties in the period, but neither capitalized on the extra chances.





Robertson joined the scoresheet with his second goal of the playoffs, extending Dallas’ lead to 3-1 in the third period.




Despite several strong saves from Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger, the Wild eventually broke through.

 
Faber sniped his second goal of the night to cut the Wild’s deficit to one with half the third period left, marking the first multi-goal game of his career across the regular season and playoffs.





The period stayed penalty-free until Dallas was called for too many men on the ice with 3:44 left, handing Minnesota’s third-ranked power play a chance to tie the game.

  
In a bizarre twist, immediately after Dallas killed the penalty, Minnesota was whistled for the same infraction with 1:32 left while trailing by one, putting the Wild in the worst possible spot.


Johnston buried an empty-netter for his second goal of the night, sealing a 4-2 win and tying the series for Dallas.


After a tough Game 1, Oettinger rebounded in net for the Stars, stopping 28 of Minnesota’s 30 shots.


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