Circle your calendars, the Minnesota Wild will embark on their journey to avoid another consecutive first-round playoff exit on Saturday in Dallas. Thanks to some over sharing from American Airlines Arena employees, it seems we have an idea of when in the afternoon the game might be played.
Playoff hockey is finally upon us, and for the 11th time since 2014 the Minnesota Wild are part of the fun. Unfortunately, that’s how far back you need to go for the last time the Wild made it out of the first round as it’s been a series a swift exits ever since.
That feels like it might change this year, but the hockey gods aren’t making it easy. Minnesota will need to get past the Dallas Stars — a hated rival and the second-best team in the Western Conference — if it wants to end its miserable streak. The roster is loaded with talent, though, so this time around things don’t feel as daunting as they have in recent years. Still, if last Thursday’s preview of this upcoming series was any indication, it’s going to be a bumpy ride no matter how things shake out in the end.
No matter the nerves, everyone is ready for playoff hockey but we’re all still waiting for the official schedule to drop. Most of the field is set, but not all of it, which is delaying things getting locked into place until after the regular season wraps up on Thursday.
That hasn’t stopped some folks from seemingly tipping the league’s hand and showing its scheduling cards ahead of time.
Wild vs. Stars Game 1 start time might have leaked early
Take it for what it’s worth — this is one of those my brother’s girlfriend’s cousin’s best friend’s next door neighbor said situations — but employees at American Airlines Arena in Dallas have said that they’re going to need to report to work on Saturday afternoon around 12pm CT.
Is this totally reliable information? No. Will we take any kernel we can get to try and figure out when we need to block tie off on Saturday to watch the Wild? Youbetcha.
What this indicates is that Game 1 of the Wild-Stars series is slated to be the middle game of that Saturday slate, something that checks out when cross-referenced against the advanced schedule times that have been floating around.
For what it’s worth, it’s more than just social media heresay that has everyone thinking the Wild will drop the puck on Saturday afternoon. Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan hinted at as much when speaking to the media this week.
As Glen Gulutzan noted a few times today to Stars media, #mnwild, too, are expecting Game 1 to be in one of the two Saturday afternoon windows
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) April 13, 2026
There are three time slots on Saturday and the Wild drawing the first and earliest slot would be a bit of a headscatcher. This is, after all, the marquee matchup of the opening round with two top teams going at it.
However, the flip side of that coin is the Wild aren’t forced into the latest possible time slot — something we’ve had to live with for far too long during the playoffs.
Either way, playoff hockey is finally here and for the first time in a while it feels like the Wild have a legit shot at making a run. Quinn Hughes excelerated the team’s timeline and the way guys like Matt Boldy, Brock Faber, and Vladimir Tarasenko have been clicking as of late is just the tip of the iceberg of reasons fans should be excited.
Hopefully it’s not an iceberg that eventually sees the season sink.
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