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3 losers (and 2 big winners) from Wild's 4-2 loss to Stars in Game 2

Apr 20, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber (7) skates off the ice after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars during the first period in game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Apr 20, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber (7) skates off the ice after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars during the first period in game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

After a dominating win on Saturday night, the Minnesota Wild blew a chance to head back to St. Paul with a series lead. It would have been the first time in franchise history the Wild owned such a lead, but checking that box will have to (hopefully) wait for the next round.

That's the more immediate thing the Wild need to take care of. Not since 2015 has Minnesota made it past the first-round of the playoffs and Monday night was a rality check on just how hard the road is going to be.

We all knew the Stars were going to come heavy after getting embarassed in Game 1, and that's exactly what happened. The series was being billed as a heavyweight fight, and that's something that truly announced itself on Monday night.

3 big losers (and 2 massive winners) from tough Wild's 4-2 loss to Stars in Game 2

Loser: Wild Power Play

Saturday night was a route thank in large part to how lethal Minnesota's power play was when given a chance. The Wild scored twice on four opportunities, something that cracked Game 1 wide open and tipped the scales in their favor.

That didn't happen in Game 2. Minnesota was completely shutdown on power play chances by Dallas, scoring during a 4-on-4 but not when given a man advantage. Mats Zuccarello, who was out after taking an elbow from Tyler Myers on Saturday, was sorely missed. The Wild had a chance late in the third quarter to tie the game on the power play, but the lack of an elite passer to set something up was felt.

That's not neccessarily something that indicates one of the best power play units in the league this year is losing its luster, but it's not exactly great to see it blow a tire like it did on Monday night.

Winner: Brock Faber

While the Wild failed to make some franchise history by taking a 2-0 series lead, we did see Brock Faber notch a career milestone in the best possible way.

After Dallas took an early lead, Faber equalized during a 4-on-4 a few minutes later. It not only tied the game up, but goes down as his first career playoff goal.

It wasn't the last time Faber found the back of the net. After Jason Robertson gave the Stars a two-goal lead, Faber scored his second career playoff goal to erase Dallas' insurance goal.

Not only did it do that, but Faber's goal came right when Jake Oettinger was starting to find his groove and get his mojo back. Minnesota tattooed him for six goals in Game 1, but Oettinger made a handful of insane saves that started to build his confidence back. Right when he started to feel himself, Faber cut him down to size -- something that might not have tipped the scales in Game 2 but could have an impact beyond Monday night.

Winner: John Hynes

At an absolutely pivotal moment in the third period, Hynes challenged a Brock Faber delay of game penalty that would have reloaded a Dallas power play. It appeared in real time that Faber had chucked a puck out of the crease and into the net, which would have erased Minnesota's penalty kill efforts with two-second left.

That would have been a potential backbreaker for a team that was sloppy all night, but also couldn't afford to let the Stars get another man-advantage chance.

Hynes drew some criticism at the beginning of the year after a slow start by the Wild be he's proven his ability to coach the team out of a funk. He's a tremendous coach, something that helped right the ship before the Quinn Hughes trade took thinks to another level, and Hynes displayed that at the exact right moment in Game 2.

Loser: Anyone hoping Yakov Trenin would stay in the game

We knew this was going to be a physical series, but that didn't really start until Game 2 on Monday night. Thanks to the Stars deciding to compltely no-show in the first game, there wasn't a whole lot of energy buzzing around the ice like we've seen in games between these two teams previously in the year.

That changed on a dime in the first period when Colin Blackwell sent Yakov Trenin to the shadow realm with a blistering hit in open ice.

It was a clean hit, which made it even worse because there was no real recourse for retribution. Trenin -- Minnesota's single-season record holder for hits -- was promptly taken out of the game with one of the biggest checks of the playoffs.

Trenin remained on the ice for almost a minute before skating off to the Wild locker room. Stormy Buonantony reported not long after that Trenin was still in the locker room trying to walk off the hit while brandishing a massive cut on his nose and a potential wrist injury.

It's a nightmare scenario for the Wild. Right when the series got as physical as we've been expecting, one of their heavy hitter got launched into another dimension, and it's unclear when he'll return.

Loser: Zach Bogosian

It was a brutal night for Zach Bogosian on a number of levels. At one point in the third period, Bogosian missed a loose puck, allowing it to bleed out of the offensive zone and give the Stars a scoring opporutnity.

Not for nothing, but on that same sequence, after missing the puck, Bogosian ran into the official and took himself out of the play at a time when Dallas was racing down the ice with possesion. It didn't result in a goal but it was a microsim of how lost Bogosian looked all night.

His worst moment was the hospital ball pass he threw up ice on the play where Yakov Trenin was knocked into another dimension — and out of the game. It was an ill-advised pass that took out Minnesota's hits leader, opening the floodgates of physicality at a time when the Wild were down a man.

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