In a must-win game where the Stars needed their penalty kill to step up against their soon-to-be playoff opponent, losing Miro Heiskanen early was no recipe for success.
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The Stars’ top defenseman and second-leading skater in PK minutes this season took a hit from Wild centerman Ryan Hartman with under four minutes to play in the first period, suffered a lower-body injury and never returned. Following his exit, the Stars’ penalty kill took the ice five times and allowed three goals to fall behind entering the third period.
But down one superstar, Dallas’ others stepped up in crunch time. Mikko Rantanen and Jason Robertson scored goals in the third period to lift Dallas to a 5-4 win over the Wild.
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The Stars’ penalty kill also then came up clutch when Rantanen took a slashing penalty with 2:30 left in regulation, and the Wild pulled goaltender Filip Gustavsson to make it 6-on-4 and try to tie the game.
The two points were critical for either team in the battle for home-ice advantage. Dallas and Minnesota were locked in as first-round opponents Tuesday, but where the series starts remains up for grabs. The Stars now sit four points ahead of Minnesota with just three games remaining. Dallas also holds the tiebreaker of regulation wins, so the Stars can clinch home-ice advantage in the first round with a win over the New York Rangers Saturday afternoon.
No matter where the series starts, Thursday’s game was a glimpse at what is set to be a thrilling matchup between the second- and third-best teams in the West. The teams acquainted themselves on the ice and after the whistle, with some fights showing just how intense the series might be.
SCORE AND FIGHT 🚨➡️🥊
— SportsDay Stars (@dmn_stars) April 10, 2026
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Sixteen penalties were called in the game, including 12 for roughing and a majority 10 on the Stars, allowing Minnesota’s power play to take over early.
After Wyatt Johnston and Quinn Hughes traded goals in the first period, Kirill Kaprizov scored twice on the power play late in the first and early in the second period on just 30 combined seconds of power play time to give the Wild a 3-1 lead. Mats Zuccarello assisted on all three goals, leading to a two-goal advantage.
But Dallas’ depth players answered. Colin Blackwell scored on a delayed penalty before immediately fighting a Minnesota player and drawing another penalty. Later in the second period, Cameron Hughes, whom Dallas called up amid all the injuries to its forwards, scored his first career NHL goal, following up a shot by Blackwell to tie the game at 3-3 with under four minutes to play in the second. Hughes, whose toothless smile appeared on the massive AAC jumbotron, appeared in just his fourth career NHL game Thursday and second in the last five seasons.
But Tyler Myers, who ended up in the box twice Thursday, took a penalty late in the second period for holding Hartman. Hartman then deflected a pass from Jared Spurgeon with 11 seconds left in the period to give Minnesota a 4-3 lead. The Wild scored power play goals in the last 30 seconds of both the first two periods.
The Stars overcame a third-period deficit for the second straight game. Under five minutes into the third, Thomas Harley’s shot from the point deflected off Rantanen’s skate and in to tie the game at 4-4. Then, with 9:25 left, Robertson scored off a cross-ice pass from Esa Lindell.
Dallas now sits in a comfortable position to clinch home-ice advantage in one of its last three games of the regular season. It won’t be long before Minnesota returns to town for what’s set to be an action-packed series.
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