Stars vs. Wild preview

Dallas and Minnesota open their first-round series Saturday with a clean split in identity: the Stars finished higher, and the Wild arrive with more pressure on their top line. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) Game 1 is set for 4:30 p.m. Central time on April 18 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Stars closed the regular season at 50-20-12 after a 4-3 shootout win in Buffalo on April 15, while the Wild finished 46-24-12 and third in the Central Division. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) (nhl.com 3) The teams were separated by four points after Dallas beat Minnesota 5-4 on April 9, a game with nine roughing penalties and a late Jason Robertson winner. Minnesota still took the season series edge into the playoffs, going 2-1-1 against Dallas, while the Stars went 1-1-1 before the regular-season finale between them. (usnews.com) (nhl.com) Dallas brings the recent playoff résumé. The Stars have reached the conference final in each of the past three postseasons and have six series wins since 2023, which the club says is the third most in the National Hockey League over that span. (nhl.com) Minnesota brings the sharper top-end scoring profile. Kirill Kaprizov finished with 87 points in 76 games, Matt Boldy had a career-high 83 points in 74 games, and Filip Gustavsson posted a.909 save percentage in 48 games. (nhl.com) Dallas can answer that with more layers. Jason Robertson led the Stars with 91 points in 78 games, Wyatt Johnston had 82 points and led the league with 26 power-play goals, and Mikko Rantanen produced 74 points in 60 games after returning from a lower-body injury on March 28. (nhl.com) The crease is not a mismatch on paper. Jake Oettinger went 32-12-6 with a 2.61 goals-against average for Dallas, Gustavsson went 28-13-6 with a 2.59 goals-against average for Minnesota, and rookie Jesper Wallstedt added a.915 save percentage in 33 games for the Wild. (nhl.com) Health could still bend the matchup. National Hockey League status notes published April 15 said Miro Heiskanen had missed three straight games with a lower-body injury but could return for Game 1, and Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said he was “very hopeful” on that front. (nhl.com) This is the third playoff meeting between the clubs, and Dallas won the first two in six games in 2016 and 2023. The opener on April 18 will test whether that recent pattern still holds against a Wild team that spent the season proving it could trade chances with the Stars. (nhl.com) (usnews.com)