Wild vs. Stars Game 1
- Minnesota Wild met the Dallas Stars in a Western Conference first-round Game 1 previewed as a heavyweight matchup. (dknetwork.draftkings.com) - Dallas has reached the Western Conference Final in each of the last three years and now plays under Glen Gulutzan in his second stint as head coach. (dknetwork.draftkings.com) - That recent deep-run experience is being cited as a factor shaping expectations and betting angles for the series. (dknetwork.draftkings.com)
Minnesota walked into Dallas for Game 1 and left with a 6-1 win, taking a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference first-round series on Saturday, April 18. (espn.com) Joel Eriksson Ek scored twice, Matt Boldy scored twice, and Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists for the Wild. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 27 of 28 shots in his playoff debut, while Dallas got its only goal from Jason Robertson on a second-period power play. (espn.com) The series opened in Dallas because the Stars finished the regular season with 112 points, four more than Minnesota’s 108. The National Hockey League schedule lists Game 2 for Monday, April 20 in Dallas before the series shifts to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4 on April 22 and April 25. (espn.com) (nhl.com) (espn.com) This matchup carried extra weight because Dallas entered the playoffs after three straight trips to the Western Conference Final, with losses in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The Stars also started this postseason under Glen Gulutzan, who was hired on July 1, 2025 for his second stint as the club’s head coach after previously leading Dallas from 2011 to 2013. (sportsnet.ca) (nhl.com) Minnesota arrived with its own recent changes and expectations. Sportsnet’s series preview noted the Wild signed Kaprizov to a new deal in September and added Quinn Hughes in a pre-Christmas trade, moves that helped turn a team with seven first-round exits since 2015 into a more credible contender. (sportsnet.ca) The regular-season numbers suggested a tight series before the opener. National Hockey League playoff coverage listed Dallas at 3.33 goals per game and Minnesota at 3.27, with both clubs above 25% on the power play and near 80% on the penalty kill. (nhl.com) The teams also had recent history beyond this week. Sportsnet reported Dallas beat Minnesota in first-round meetings in 2016 and 2023, both in six games, and said the clubs spent much of the 2025-26 season on a collision course for another playoff matchup. (sportsnet.ca) Game 1 still flipped the tone fast: Minnesota led 1-0 after Joel Eriksson Ek’s first-period power-play goal, then pushed the margin to 4-0 in the second before Robertson answered. By the third period, another Eriksson Ek power-play goal and a Boldy empty-netter had turned the opener into a rout. (espn.com) Now the pressure shifts to Game 2 in Dallas on Monday night, with the Stars trying to avoid going to St. Paul down 0-2 and the Wild trying to turn one lopsided opener into control of the series. (nhl.com)
