Wild defeat Stars in Game 3, take series lead in Western 1st Round

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Ryan Hartman had a goal and two assists, and the Minnesota Wild defeated the Dallas Stars 5-1 in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round at Xcel Energy Center on Friday.

"We've talked a lot about what we do and how we play and that is a consistent thing that happens with our hockey club, and again, it has to be for us to have success," Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. "We have to play the way we play, and we did tonight."

The Wild lead the best-of-7 series 2-1. Game 4 is here Sunday.
Mats Zuccarello scored twice, and John Klingberg had two assists for Minnesota, the No. 3 seed in the Central Division. Filip Gustavsson made 23 saves.
Luke Glendening scored, and Jake Oettinger made 20 saves for the Stars, the No. 2 seed in the Central.
"Whether you lose 1-0, 5-1, it's one game," Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said. "We're down 2-1. We've got a chance to get a split here and get our home ice back with a big effort next game, so that's what we're looking to do."
RELATED: [Complete Stars vs. Wild series coverage]
Zuccarello gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead at 16:45 of the first period, finding a rebound at the top of the crease for a backhand. It was his first goal since March 12.
"Just get the win," Zuccarello said. "That's the most important thing. We're playing a really good team and we know we have to be at our best to have a chance to beat these guys. It was a solid effort all around and everyone chipped in, whether it was offensively or defensively, whatever we needed, we chipped in today."

Marcus Johansson increased the lead to 2-0 at 2:14 of the second period when he skated around Stars defenseman Colin Miller in the right face-off circle and shot far side under Oettinger's arm.
Glendening cut it to 2-1 11 seconds later, chipping in a loose puck at 2:25, but Marcus Foligno put the Wild up 3-1 at 11:24 on the power play, deflecting a Gustav Nyquist shot from the left point.
The call on the ice was initially no goal, but video review determined that Foligno's stick was at or below the height of the crossbar when he redirected the puck into the net, and the call was reversed.
"The first period we had a couple chances in there and I think they did too, but the second period, you know, they get that one, we got one back and then we take a penalty, they score and then we're trying to play catch-up," Dallas forward Jason Robertson said. "That's pretty much how it was."

Zuccarello pushed it to 4-1 at 14:07 of the third period on a breakaway, going glove side on Oettinger after a long stretch pass by Hartman from below the Wild goal line.
Hartman scored into an empty net at 18:10 for the 5-1 final.
"It's a completely new game," Hartman said. "I know they're not thinking about their last win and we're not thinking about the last game either. It's a fresh game in our building. I can tell you we're not going to be thinking about this game on Sunday, and neither will they. A completely new game. We've got to go out there and give the same effort."
NOTES: Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek left the game 19 seconds into his first shift in the first period with an apparent injury. He was a game-time decision after missing Games 1 and 2 and the final four of the regular season with a lower-body injury. There was no update. … Klingberg played 16:38 in his Minnesota playoff debut after missing the previous two games with a lower-body injury. … Boston Bruins forward Nick Foligno also scored Friday, the first time since May 7, 2010, that brothers scored on the same day in the postseason (Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks), and first since April 26, 2009, when two have done so on different teams (Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes; Marc Staal, New York Rangers). … Defenseman Jared Spurgeon had his 21st assist to tie Zach Parise for the most in Wild playoff history. … Nyquist (assist) is the first player in Wild history to get at least one point in each of his first three playoff games. … Gustavsson is the first goalie to win each of his first two postseason games with Minnesota.