Heika’s Take: Various point streaks snap as Stars fall to Wild on road

The Stars hit a wall on Thursday in Minnesota.

While Dallas has been able to rely on goaltending and special teams in recent wins, even that formula wasn’t enough in a 5-2 loss to Minnesota.

Jake Oettinger was fantastic and kept the lads in Victory Green either tied or within a goal for most of the game, but the Wild earned the victory by playing better in almost every aspect. Minnesota had a 32-18 advantage in shots on goal and 10 more quality scoring chances. Oettinger stopped 27 shots before Minnesota popped in two empty-netters to make the score look more lopsided than it was.

That said, it was pretty lopsided.

“We probably got what we deserved tonight,” said Stars captain Jamie Benn. “I thought Jake was great and made a lot of big saves, but it wasn’t a good enough 60-minute effort.”

Dallas had some similar issues Tuesday in Winnipeg, but Casey DeSmith was great, the team scored two power play goals and protected a lead late for a 4-3 win. Coach Glen Gulutzan said he saw some of the same problems on Thursday and the Wild were just a little better.

“That was a little bit in the making,” Gulutzan said. “You don’t play great in Winnipeg. Your specialty teams win you the game. Specialty teams were in effect today, you get a shorty and a power play goal. But when you’re taking on that much water 5-on-5, you’re just not playing well.”

Oettinger was fantastic as the Stars gave up the first nine shots on goal in the game. Then, when Dallas earned its first power play, it struck quickly when Jason Robertson scored on the team’s first shot on net. That was a promising start, and even after Minnesota tied the game, Miro Heiskanen scored a shorthanded goal from distance to give the Stars a 2-1 lead.

Minutes later, Wyatt Johnston appeared to make it 3-1 with a fantastic goal off a smooth series of passes. However, the Wild challenged for offside, and Dallas was in violation, so that marker came off the board. Minnesota then scored to make it 2-2 at second intermission, and that seemed to create plenty of energy at Grand Casino Arena.

Heiskanen said the disallowed goal shouldn’t have affected the Stars.

“It shouldn’t matter,” said Heiskanen, who played 26:11 and finished with a goal and an assist. “Of course it’s a big goal if it comes, but we should keep playing and try to score another one, but we just couldn’t do that today.”

Instead, the Wild continued to dominate play and got the game winner on a nice passing play that had Oettinger going side to side midway through the third period.

Dallas actually put some pressure on after that and finished with a 9-6 advantage in shots on goal in the final frame, but that just showed how bad it was earlier in the game.

“It’s unfortunate we didn’t give him a better effort,” Benn said of the Dallas goalie.

The Stars are still 21-6-5 on the year, the second best record in the NHL. They saw their point streak stop at 11 games and their road point streak halt at 13. Now, they get to host the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday to try to start a new streak.

“You just move on and learn quick and figure out what we can do better,” Benn said.

Nils Lundkvist missed the game with illness and Roope Hintz was hit by a puck late in the game and had to be helped off the ice. The Stars have a day off Friday, so we’ll learn more about both players before Saturday’s game.

That said, the entire team has some work to do.

“We have to execute better,” Gulutzan said. “They just executed plays, especially through the neutral zone, better than we did. Some of their plays through the neutral zone, some of the odd-man rushes they created, it gives you momentum and gets their top guys feeling good when they make those plays,” Gulutzan said. “We just didn’t make enough.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.