Stars win home finale, down Wild 4-1

The Dallas Stars closed out the home portion of their 2017-18 season on a high note, defeating the Minnesota Wild 4-1 behind a 33-save effort from goaltender Kari Lehtonen and one goal and one assist nights from both defenseman John Klingberg and center Tyler Seguin.
"We've been playing pretty good hockey at home the whole year. The crowd has been amazing, and they gave us a chance to win every night," Klingberg said. "Obviously, for us, closing out a game this season like this at home is really huge for us.
"I feel like we played a really good game, 60 minutes today."

WATCH: [All Stars vs. Wild highlights]
"It's nice to win it for the fans. They've been great for us all year," said center Jason Spezza. "We've definitely had a home-ice advantage all season when we've played here. It's a really enjoyable building to play in. Happy to get the win for the fans. It's a great building, and they deserved a win."

Spezza staked the Stars to a 1-0 lead in the first period, Klingberg tallied in the second to push the lead to 2-0, and Radek Faksa scored shorthanded early in the third to extend Dallas' lead to 3-0. Seguin scored into an empty net - his 40th goal of the season - to seal the win late in the game.
For once, the Stars were able to grab a lead and then build on it.
"I think that's the big difference, we haven't been able to extend leads, and we've had all kinds of opportunities to do it, but we've allowed the other team to regroup and come back," said Stars coach Ken Hitchcock. "When we went 3-0 tonight, it gave us breathing space, so we could play. That's how you win in the National Hockey League. You've got to be able to create gaps when you've got a lead."
The Stars (40-21-8) kept their slim playoff hopes alive with the win. They are four points out of the second wild-card spot with three games remaining on their schedule.

The Wild (43-25-10) had a seven-game points streak come to an end and suffered a big blow when they lost defenseman Ryan Suter in the second period. Suter, who was unable to put any weight on his leg, had to be helped off the ice after taking a hit from Stars forward Remi Elie behind the Minnesota net.
"I've got no update. I guess we'll know Monday. Lower-body injury right now," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "(Suter) doesn't get hurt very often. Anytime he goes off like that, you worry about it. I hope it's not as bad as it looked when he was coming off."
The Stars outshot the Wild 13-10 in the first period and scored the only goal. After the Wild turned over the puck during a line change, Klingberg sent a long pass to Alexander Radulov, who moved it to Spezza and the Dallas center broke in on net alone and scored on a backhand shot.
It was Spezza's first goal since Jan. 16.

The Stars extended the lead to 2-0 at 8:00 of the second period. Seguin forced a Wild turnover in the neutral zone, put the puck in the offensive zone and Benn set up Klingberg who scored from the slot.
Minnesota opened the third period with 1:46 of power play time, but the Stars scored shorthanded at the 19-second mark to push their lead to 3-0. After Wild defenseman Ryan Murphy turned over the puck in the Minnesota end, Tyler Pitlick set up Faksa, who scored from close range.
The Wild cashed in on the remaining time on the power play when Parise tipped in a Mikael Granlund pass to cut the Dallas lead to 3-1 at the 1:29 mark. The scored stayed that way until Seguin scored into the empty net to seal the win for the Stars.
"We came here today to play hard and give it all out there," Lehtonen said. "It was nice to get a good result for the last home game."

Notes

What's Next

The Stars close out the 2017-18 regular season with a three-game road trip against San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles.

Stars Lineup

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin- Alexander Radulov
Antoine Roussel - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Mattias Janmark - Jason Spezza - Gemel Smith
Remi Elie - Devin Shore - Brett Ritchie
Marc Methot - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Greg Pateryn
Esa Lindell - Julius Honka
Kari Lehtonen
Mike McKenna
Scratched:Jason Dickinson, Dillon Heatherington
Injured:Stephen Johns (possible concussion), Ben Bishop (knee), Martin Hanzal (back)

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.