Game recap: Minnesota Wild Beat The Dallas Stars, 2-1

Mikael Granlund’s  goal 40 seconds into the third. Would prove to be the game-winner, as the Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 2-1.

Good evening, wild fans. The Minnesota Wild went into Dallas today having won only one of their past 20 games at the American Airlines Center. Tonight, the Wild’s youth showed up in force to steal the victory and two points.

Before we get to my notes, Gone Puck Wild would like to extend our sincerest sympathies to the bantam hockey team that lost a 13-year-old skater in Brainerd or the weekend. Our thoughts are certainly with them.

First Period:

The Wild seemed  to exchange chances with the Stars through most of the first period, although Dallas had the better chances overall. I think tensions among fans probably got a little high in the first as the Star certainly outchanced the Wild, something we’re not used to seeing from a speedy Wild core that focuses on keeping pucks in the offensive zone.

Darcy Kuemper came up huge in the opening frame, and looks nothing like the goaltender that gave up two goals on shots just two nights ago at the Xcel Energy Center. Factor in some glaring defensive breakdowns by the Wild that led to Kuemper having to scramble quite a few times and I think he looked even better.

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Stu Bickel took the Wild’s first penalty, drawn when he stepped in to protect Justin Falk from Antione Roussel. Roussel roughed up Falk a bit, but didn’t take a penalty himself. The Stars didn’t manage a single shot on goal during the power play, so that’s good.

It took the Wild 9 minutes to register a shot on goal, although they had a few missed shots in there. I don’t know if I’d call this concerning or not. They never quite managed sustained zone pressure in the first, but took whatever chances they got.

The Wild got their first chance with the man advantage with 17 seconds left in the first, but a glaring giveaway by Mikko Koivu in the offensive zone negated that.

I think the Wild were lucky to sneak off to the locker room scoreless.

Shots after one period: Minnesota Wild 6, Dallas Stars 8

Second Period:

The Wild had 18 minutes to work out a power play. EIGHTEEN MINUTES. You know what happened?  No shots, no sustained zone pressure, nothing.  Dallas registered one shorthanded bid.

The recently improved Kyle Brodziak took a tripping penalty that the Wild killed. One thing I noticed in this game that made me a little nervous was Kuemper’s passing game on rebounds. He seems to shuffle the puck towards the boards which put the defense in a tough spot trying to clear.

Antoine Roussel tapped a rebound past Kuemper’s leg pad to open the scoring around the 5 minute mark. Veron Fiddler made a wraparound attempt that Kuemper stopped by squeezing in tight against the post. The rebound made its way right on to Roussel’s stick and a simple tap later, Dallas was on the board. 1-0 Dallas at 05:34 of the second.

Undoubtedly, the Wild looked deflated and I thought the game was basically over, until the 4th line struck again.

After an incredibly long shift, Ryan Carter broke up a Dallas pass at the blue line and sprung loose through the neutral zone. Erik Haula turned on the jets to join him, took a perfect pass from Carter and planted it home just inside the far goalpost. Ryan Carter has been spectacular for the Wild since joining the club. Look for a piece on him soon. 1-1 Tie at 15:41 of the second.

I was really excited to see Haula step up and join the rush. He’s been demoted to the 4th line and maybe it served as a wake-up call. The kid has promise, but he needs to get his game right.

Shots through two periods: Minnesota Wild 14, Dallas Stars 17

Third Period:

It didn’t take long for an invigorated Wild squad to find the net again. Charlie Coyle lobbed an odd-angle shot at Dallas goaltender Kari Lehtonen. In a case of Deja vu, the rebound landed squarely on Mikael Granlund‘s stick and the Finnish star chipped away until he found an opening under Lehtonen’s pad. 2-1 Wild at 00:40 of the third.

The Wild suddenly flew through the zone for the next 5-6 minutes, putting Dallas on their heels.

Lehtonen went to the bench with 1:30 left after a Wild icing. Remarkably, no shots made it through to Kuemper. I thought the Wild played remarkably well down the stretch, blocking everything that came off a Dallas stick. Yeo sent Granlund, Coyle and Jason Zucker on the ice to end the game. That should serve as a huge confidence booster to the team and the fans. Game over Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 2-1 in regulation.

Final Shots on Goal: Minnesota Wild 22, Dallas Stars 28

Trembley’s Take:

The Wild stole this one, folks. This is the first game that the Wild were outshot through every period and the game.

I was really impressed with the effort tonight. Mathew Dumba played really well, as did Nino Niederreiter. Both had Corsi for percentages north of 60. Dumba wasn’t credited with a shot on goal, but he set off a few bombs from the blue line that stung some Stars defenders.

Kuemper was the first star of the game and rightfully so. His 0.964 save percentage only tells part of the story. He had great scramble tonight.

Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza, and Jamie Benn were held off the stat sheet again. Good work by the Wild

Dallas is in a slump and I think it was the perfect time for the Wild to snag a win. Check in with our friends at Blackout Dallas for their take on the situation in Big D. You can also take a look at my pre-season size up of the Stars HERE

I’ll be back Wednesday with more Trembley’s Take.