ST. PAUL, Minn. \u2014 The Minnesota Wild play in arguably the toughest division in the NHL, with the top two teams both right ahead of them in the standings.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why it was so encouraging for them to beat the Dallas Stars 5-2 by controlling the five-on-five play at home Thursday night against the second-place team in the Central Division. This comes just a few weeks after a home shootout win over the best-in-the-NHL Colorado Avalanche.<\/p>\n
The fact that the Wild completed the feat without several key regulars \u2014 from Mats Zuccarello to Jake Middleton, Marco Rossi and Marcus Foligno \u2014 made it more impressive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have belief, and we know what we\u2019re capable of,\u201d Matt Boldy said. \u201cThere\u2019s never been a doubt in that. So, yeah, those teams are the measuring stick. They\u2019re so good. So, for us to come in and find ways to win, it\u2019s not always pretty. There\u2019s ups and downs. Those are good teams. The biggest thing for us is to play our game and make it hard on them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Stars entered the game 10-0-5 in their last 15 meetings against the Wild, with this being Minnesota\u2019s first regulation win over them since Nov. 18, 2021. Dallas came in red hot; this was only its third regulation loss since Oct. 21. But the Wild set the tone from the start, holding a 9-0 shot advantage midway through the period.<\/p>\n
Dallas delivered a gut-punch on Jason Robertson\u2019s power-play goal, its first shot, to make it 1-0. Minnesota responded, though, tying the game twice, including after Miro Heiskanen\u2019s shorthanded goal midway through the second.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there was a lot of different things in this game where I like the way that we stuck with certain things,\u201d coach John Hynes said. \u201cAnd I would say it\u2019s two back-to-back games, you go back to Seattle with the Zuccarello (injury) and how we handled that, and then I think tonight in a highly contested game, there were things where you got a bounce or two, or something didn\u2019t go your way, but we weren\u2019t deterred.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boldy was a big reason why. He was terrific all night, getting the assist on Minnesota\u2019s first two goals, then adding an empty-netter. He\u2019s making a difference every night, showing why he\u2019s got a superstar ceiling<\/a>. Marcus Johansson had two goals, including the game-winner for the second straight game. Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal, and Zach Bogosian tallied his first of the season.<\/p>\n Filip Gustavsson stopped 16 of 18 shots for his second straight win.<\/p>\n The Wild also got a boost from their video coaches, as a Wyatt Johnston goal in the second period \u2014 which would have made it 3-1 Dallas \u2014 was overturned due to a coach\u2019s challenge for offside. How soon did Hynes know to challenge?<\/p>\n \u201cReally quick,\u201d Hynes said. \u201cThat was, it wasn\u2019t really a question. I think when you see the replay, it was kind of an easy one.\u201d<\/p>\n Minnesota didn\u2019t win the special teams battle, going 0-for-3 on the power play with a shorthanded goal allowed and giving up Robertson\u2019s power-play goal. A lot of their best work was done at five-on-five, where the Wild had a 13-5 edge in high-danger chances and 3.01-1.07 advantage in expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick.<\/p>\n \u201cI think playing a team like that, that\u2019s been as hot as they were, we were ready for them,\u201d Bogosian said. \u201cI think that\u2019s a good brand of hockey that we were playing.\u201d<\/p>\n Ride the \u2018Bus\u2019<\/p>\n For the first time in 15 games, the Wild went away from their goalie rotation.<\/p>\n Gustavsson got back-to-back starts after having been in net for Monday\u2019s 4-1 win over the Kraken. Hynes indicated there were a few reasons behind that call. Part of it was the schedule, as the Wild had a couple of off days following the road trip and wanted to get Jesper Wallstedt a few skates before his next game. Gustavsson also played well against Seattle and entered the game with solid numbers against the Stars. He now holds a .934 save percentage and 2.01 goals against average in 10 career regular-season starts<\/p>\n \u201cI guess (I was surprised). Maybe a little bit,\u201d Gustavsson said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been going back and forth for so long, and then (I) was out playing with the kid in the snow and got the text (from Hynes). You\u2019re always excited to play, so it\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Gustavsson got off to a shaky start, but he ultimately delivered, making nine saves in the third period.<\/p>\n \u201cI was still in the game and just moving along,\u201d Gustavsson said. \u201cYou see 1-0 on the scoreboard with one shot. It\u2019s psychologically tough, and sometimes you can feel a team losing a little bit of momentum there. Today just kept going.\u201d<\/p>\n The Stars took the lead again on a Heiskanen shorthanded goal on a blast from the point midway through the second. Gustavsson called it a \u201csoft goal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, I want to save that, and then it would be an easier game for us in the third period, I feel like,\u201d Gustavsson said.<\/p>\n Still, give Gustavsson credit for settling in and making some key saves in the third, including one on Mikko Rantanen with the extra attacker.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought for the most part when we had some breakdowns, Gus came up big for us,\u201d Hynes said.<\/p>\n Gustavsson and Wallstedt will split the back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n Clutch Johansson<\/p>\n Is there a better bang for your buck in the NHL than Johansson?<\/p>\n Johansson, who signed a one-year, $800,000 deal in the summer, already has 11 goals, matching his total from each of the previous two seasons. For the second straight game, he scored the game-winner, with this one a strong finish on a really slick cross-crease pass from Boldy.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess a little bit of a face-off play,\u201d Boldy said. \u201cYou have ideas where guys are going to go. But for him to peel out and get as open as he was, and then to watch him score was a lot of credit to him. That\u2019s not an easy play.\u201d<\/p>\n Marcus Johansson = hockey guy pic.twitter.com\/f7zq1bx0an<\/a><\/p>\n