Stars, Wild Open Round
Minnesota and Dallas opened their first‑round NHL series on Saturday, with the Stars entering the postseason fresh off multiple deep runs in recent years. (nytimes.com) Dallas is playing under coach Glen Gulutzan in his second stint, and the Stars reached the Western Conference Final in each of the last three seasons. (dknetwork.draftkings.com) (nytimes.com)
Minnesota opened its first-round series at Dallas on Saturday, starting a matchup that had been locked in by the standings for months. (nhl.com) Game 1 was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Eastern on April 18 at American Airlines Center, with Dallas holding home ice as the Central Division’s No. 2 seed and Minnesota entering as No. 3. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) The teams finished the regular season 50-20-12 and 112 points for Dallas, and 46-24-12 and 104 points for Minnesota. They split the season series in practice: Dallas went 2-1-1, while Minnesota went 2-2-0. (nhl.com) This pairing had barely moved since late November. The Stars and Wild sat in second and third place in the Central Division every day from Nov. 21 through the end of the season, a 147-day stretch. (nhl.com) Home ice swung on the final week. Dallas beat Minnesota 5-4 on April 9 after a third-period comeback, and that result helped the Stars stay in second place after moving there on Feb. 28. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) The series opens with star power on both sides. Dallas had 45-goal seasons from Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston, while Minnesota got 45 goals from Kirill Kaprizov and 42 from Matt Boldy. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) (nhl.com 3) Minnesota also changed the shape of this matchup in December. The Wild acquired defenseman Quinn Hughes from Vancouver on Dec. 12, and he finished with 76 points, including 53 in 48 games after the trade. (nhl.com) (nhl.com) Dallas entered the playoffs under Glen Gulutzan, who was hired on July 1, 2025 for a second stint as Stars head coach after Pete DeBoer was fired in June. Gulutzan previously coached Dallas from 2011 to 2013. (nhl.com) (deadspin.com) The recent playoff history leans Dallas. The Stars reached the Western Conference final in 2023, 2024 and 2025, while the Wild have not won a playoff series since 2015 and lost first-round meetings with Dallas in 2016 and 2023. (deadspin.com) (nhl.com) That left Saturday with very little mystery and a lot of familiarity: two Central Division rivals, four regular-season games decided mostly by tight margins, and another series starting in Dallas. (nhl.com) (nhl.com)
