Granlund helps Wild defeat Stars

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Mikael Granlund scored the go-ahead goal on a second-period power play to help the Minnesota Wild to a 4-2 win against the Dallas Stars at Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday.

Alex Stalock made 24 saves for Minnesota (19-15-3), which had lost two straight games.
"We defended well and Stalock] was there when he needed to be," Granlund said. "That was the key for success tonight."
***[WATCH: [All Stars vs. Wild highlights]*
Dallas (20-15-3) had won two in a row.
"We had a lot of momentum when we took the (three-day Christmas) break," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Obviously with the show tonight, we've lost the momentum. So it's on us to get it back. … We were playing very good hockey. Whether this is a one-off or not, we'll see. But this was exactly the way we played earlier where you're just hoping to win."
Tyler Seguin gave the Stars a 1-0 lead when he redirected a pass from Esa Lindell at 12:37 of the first for his fourth goal in his past three games.
Jared Spurgeon tied it 1-1 at 19:19 of the period, scoring on a pass across the crease from Charlie Coyle, who had gathered the rebound off a shot by Tyler Ennis.

Eric Staal scored on a rush at 5:12 of the second period to give the Wild a 2-1 lead.
Ten seconds into a power play, Mattias Janmark scored at 10:43 of the second to tie it 2-2, putting the puck in off a shot by Seguin that bounced off the boards.

Granlund scored on a rebound at 13:08 to make it 3-2. It appeared Spurgeon had scored his second of the game as the period ended, but it was ruled the puck went in after time expired.
Jason Zucker scored into an empty net with 45 seconds remaining in the third to make it 4-2. It was his first goal in nine games.

Ben Bishop made 27 saves in his fifth consecutive start for the Stars.
"It's a really good way to start the week and after the little break," Granlund said. "Now we try and move on, we have two really tough games (against the Nashville Predators) this weekend. Let's keep it going."

Goal of the game

Granlund's goal at 13:08 of the second period.

Save of the game

Stalock's save on Janmark at 14:35 of the third.

Highlight of the game

Seguin's goal at 12:37 of the first.

They said it

"It was our poorest effort by a mile. We were light everywhere; light on the puck, light around our net, light around their net. This looked like the way we played a month and a half ago." -- Stars coach Ken Hitchcock
"It should have been pretty even. I mean, I know we were up pretty early today, but as far as legs and emotion and intensity it should have been the same. But they brought it tonight and we just didn't seem to have it." -- Stars forward Tyler Seguin
"I didn't want to talk about it being a huge game, but it was a huge game. We called it the start of the second half. You get a chance to reset. I likened it this morning to a game of golf where we played the first nine holes and probably aren't as happy as we'd like to be but we can always make it up by having a great back nine." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau

Need to know

Dallas forward Jamie Benn has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past nine games. … Staal has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past nine games and leads Minnesota with 32 points (15 goals, 17 assists). … Boudreau coached his 800th NHL game. He is 477-232-91 in 12 seasons. ... Minnesota is 8-1-1 at home since Nov. 14.

What's next

Stars: Host the St. Louis Blues on Friday (8:30 p.m. ET; FS-MW, FS-SW+, NHL.TV)
Wild: Host the Nashville Predators on Friday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)