Game Recap: Wild 6, Stars 1

DALLAS -- Matt Boldy had two goals and an assist, and the Minnesota Wild defeated the Dallas Stars 6-1 in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round at American Airlines Center on Saturday.

“We played a good team game,” Wild forward Mats Zuccarello said. “Special teams came up huge and (goalie Jesper Wallstedt) came up huge, and we got some timely goals. It's always nice to get the first win and start on a good note, but now we forget and go on. We have two good goalies who can step in at any time, so we’re lucky with that. We’re comfortable with both of them back there. (Wallstedt) played great today, he was calm, and he was really good.”

Joel Eriksson Ek scored twice on the power play, Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who are the No. 3 seed in the Central Division. Wallstedt made 27 saves in his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, and Zuccarello had three assists.

“I was definitely nervous,” said Wallstedt, a rookie. “I think it shows that it means something to you. I like a little bit of nerves. I think it’s something good. There were definitely some nerves throughout the day and then a little bit extra rolling into the game. But after the national anthem was over and the first couple pucks started coming, you’re good. 

“I wanted to play and I felt like I have been going good. I was a little surprised (to get the start). But I was very excited as soon as I got the news. I just wanted to make sure I was ready today.”

Jason Robertson scored, and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for the Stars, who are the No. 2 seed in the Central.

“We didn’t deserve to win,” Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen said. “I think two power-play goals for them, two a little-bit bounces for them where we had guys in the right spot. Just even keel. Playoffs are like this. Sometimes you lose a game, you can feel like you’re done. But that’s the mentality you need to have, you’ve got to reset and learn from mistakes. 

“First 30 minutes, we didn’t win enough battles. They were just that little bit stronger in the battles and that’s why they were able to make us defend more than we want to. Just got to be stronger.”

Game 2 is here on Monday (9:30 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, Victory+, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360).

“We prepped for a couple days coming into this one. Now, we will gather information from this game and continue to move forward,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “For me, it’s game to game and day to day. We want to continue to get better. We won and they [Dallas] lost. It’s not so much being satisfied where you’re at or that’s what it is. We need to continue to find ways to get better.”

Eriksson Ek gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 5:35 of the first period on the power play. He scored on a one-timer from the left hash marks to finish a tic-tac-toe passing play with Zuccarello and Boldy, who found an open Eriksson Ek with a pass from the goal line.

“I think every team in the playoffs talks about not getting too high or too low. Just enjoy every day and each game and then we will go from there,” Eriksson Ek said. “I think we played pretty good today. The next game is a new game, so we just have to do it over and over every game. We know they are probably not the happiest with that game, so I am sure it’s going to be hard next game.”

Kaprizov made it 2-0 at 56 seconds of the second period. He shot over Oettinger’s left shoulder from the right face-off circle off a cross-ice pass from Hartman.

Hartman extended the lead to 3-0 at 3:28. Faber took a one-timer from the top of the left circle near the wall, and Hartman deflected it in front.

“It wasn’t fundamental breakdowns there. For me, it was battles,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “We had pucks on our sticks right above the blue line, right inside the blue line on another one. It wasn’t coverage issues. We didn’t win anything. When you’re not winning anything and you’re not winning your races, you’re not winning your 50-50s, you put yourself at risk for what happened. Deflections, a shot from the half-wall that goes off a guy and goes in, one from behind the net. Because you’re in vulnerable spots because you’re not winning battles. Like I said, to a man I think we can all be better in that area.”

Boldy made it 4-0 at 6:30 when he knocked a loose puck off of Stars defenseman Thomas Harley and in from the side of the net.

Robertson cut it to 4-1 with a power-play goal at 15:10, scoring on a backhand shot from the left side.

Eriksson Ek gave the Wild a 5-1 lead with his second power-play goal at 8:13 of the third period. He took a no-look pass from Kaprizov and scored from low in the left circle.

“They’re good players, they’re going to make some passes. Have to be better at positioning and try to be a little more aggressive and not give them as much time I think,” Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen said of his team allowing two power-play goals in the game. “Have to play a little harder, close the gaps a little quicker, and not give them that much time. I think those are the keys. It’s a long series. Game 1 is over. Didn’t get that one. Just move on and get it back.”

Boldy then scored into an empty net at 16:52 for the 6-1 final.

“I don’t think we played our best game, but we’ve played a lot of playoff series and lost a lot of Game 1s, so I feel like we know what we need to do next game,” Oettinger said. “We all have to be better. I think the last goal was bad, but I think I did good things and I think I have a lot that I need to be better at. I think I can make more saves. That’s one thing I can focus on. I can’t control what’s going on in front of me or the forecheck. I just need to be a lot better next game.”

NOTES: Kaprizov scored his 16th playoff goal, tying Zach Parise for the most in Wild history. He also scored the third game-winning playoff goal of his career to tie Nino Niederreiter for the most in Minnesota history. … Heiskanen returned after missing three games with an upper-body injury. He had four shots on goal and was minus-1 in 23:55 of ice time.