The Wild Warmup is presented by Bryant Heating and Cooling
ST. PAUL -- After two convincing home victories in three days, the Wild have a quick turnaround as it heads down south to face the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Friday night.
Since losing to the Bruins in its first game back from the All-Star break, the Wild have picked up four points against conference opponents, most recently defeating the Pacific Division-leading Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Thursday.
Brad Hunt, suiting up for only the second time since Jan. 9, opened up the scoring 6:01 into the first period, having a wrist shot deflect off of a Canucks player and past goalie Jacob Markstrom.
Later in the first period, Mikko Koivu took advantage of a Canucks mishap behind the net and found Ryan Hartman in front to double the lead.
Kevin Fiala continued his offensive tear, scoring a power play goal 16:20 into the first period. It was Fiala's 12th goal of the season and his third goal in two games.
With the Wild leading 3-1 in the third period, Zach Parise helped widen the lead, scoring a power play goal 14:33 into the final frame. The goal was Parise's 20th goal of the season, the 10th time in his career he has surpassed the 20-goal mark. It was also the fifth time he has achieved this feat with the Wild, tying Marian Gaborik for the most career 20-goal seasons in franchise history.
Parise will hit another personal milestone on Friday night in Dallas.
It will be the 1,000th career game for the Wild forward, becoming the 347th player in NHL history to reach the 1,000-game milestone and the eighth Minnesota-born player to do so.
To make the night even more special, Parise will hit 1,000 games against the franchise that his dad, J.P., played over 500 games for, the Minnesota North Stars.
This will be the fourth meeting between the two clubs this season. The Stars won the the first matchup in Dallas, but the Wild have won the last two, winning in a shootout on Mikko Koivu's 1,000th game on Dec. 1 and then defeating the Stars 7-0 to conclude Hockey Day Minnesota.
Dallas is coming into the game following a three-game East Coast road trip, where it recorded five points.
The Stars currently sit in third place in the Central Division, nine points ahead of the Wild.
Tyler Seguin leads the team with 28 assists and 39 points. Alexander Radulov and Roope Hintz share the team lead in goals, scoring 15 each.
Ben Bishop has started 35 games this season, posting a 18-11-4 record with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
