Stars fall to Wild in return from holiday break

The Dallas Stars were hoping to ride the momentum they had built heading into the Christmas break when play resumed Wednesday night, but they hit a roadblock in Minnesota, falling 4-2 to the Wild.

WATCH: [All Stars vs. Wild highlights]
"It was our poorest effort by a mile," said Stars coach Ken Hitchcock. "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."
The Stars hit the break with big wins over Central Division foes Chicago and Nashville and were on a nice run. But Wednesday's loss ended a four-game points streak for the Stars who suffered their first regulation loss since Dec. 15.
"We had a lot of momentum when we took the break and, obviously, with the show tonight we've lost the momentum," Hitchcock said. "It's up to us to get it back."

Tyler Seguin and Mattias Janmark scored for the Stars (20-15-3) who lost in regulation for only the second time in their last eight games (4-2-2). Ben Bishop stopped 27 of 30 shots in goal.
"They brought it tonight, and we just didn't seem to have it," Seguin said.
Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker both had one goal and one assist and Alex Stalock stopped 24 shots for the Wild (19-15-3) who won for just the second time in their last six games. The win pulled them to within two points of the Stars who hold the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
"I didn't want to talk about it being a huge game, but it was a huge game," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We called it the start of the second half, and you get a chance to reset. It's only one game, but it's a good divisional start."

The Stars and Wild each scored once in the first period. Esa Lindell gathered up a rebound and made a slick pass to set up Seguin who redirected the puck past Wild goaltender Alex Stalock to put the Stars up 1-0 at the 12:37 mark.
The Wild answered in the final minute of the first. Tyler Ennis put a shot on net off the rush, Charlie Coyle grabbed the rebound and set up Jared Spurgeon who tapped the puck in the net from close range at the 19:19 mark.
"That was a big mistake by us," said Stars center Martin Hanzal. "We were up 1-0, and they score with 40 seconds left. That can't happen."
Minnesota grabbed a 2-1 lead at 5:12 of the second when Eric Staal's backhand shot on a two-on-one rush went in the net off the skate of Stars defenseman Greg Pateryn.

The Stars drew even midway through the second by cashing in on their second power play of the night. After Seguin put a shot on net that went wide, Janmark grabbed the puck as it rebounded off the end boards and put it in the open side of the net to make it a 2-2 game at the 10:43 mark.
The Wild regained the lead less than three minutes later with a power-play goal. Granlund scored off the rebound of Zucker's tip of a Mikko Koivu shot at the 13:08 mark, putting the Wild ahead 3-2.
The Stars dodged a bullet late in the second when Spurgeon tallied on a wrap-around with Minnesota on another power play, but time in the period expired just before the puck crossed the goal line, so it stayed a 3-2 game heading to the third.
The Stars had a couple of chances in the third, including a great one late in the period by Janmark, who shot wide as he broke in on Stalock. Zucker then sealed the win with 45 seconds remaining, scoring into an empty net to make it a 4-2 final.

Notes: Methot closing in on return

What's Next

The Stars return home to take on the St. Louis Blues on Friday night at American Airlines Center. The Stars are 0-2-0 vs. the Blues this season. Friday's game will be the first of six straight at home for the Stars, who are 12-4-1 at the AAC.

Stars Lineup

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

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 Mark on Twitter at @StarsInsideEdge.