Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy (12) celebrates with left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) after scoring past Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (background) during the second period in Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series at American Airlines Center on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Stars will be facing elimination for the remainder of their first-round playoff series with the Minnesota Wild.
The Wild claimed another win on American Airlines Center ice, defeating the Stars 4-2 in Game 5 Tuesday night.
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The Wild can end the Stars’ season at home in Game 6 Thursday night.
Here are five thoughts from the Stars’ loss.
Wild push Stars to brink of elimination
The Stars aren’t very familiar with long offseasons, but one could be just around the corner.
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The Wild need to win just one of the last two games of the series to punch their ticket to the second round, where they would face the Colorado Avalanche. That’s why the winner of a Game 5 when a series is tied 2-2 goes on to win the series 80% of the time.
The Stars haven’t been eliminated before the Western Conference finals since 2022 when they lost to Calgary in seven games in the first round.
The last time the Stars faced elimination in Game 6 of a series and went on to advance was in 1999 in the Western Conference finals against Colorado — the year they won the Cup.
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Stars still unable to convert 5-on-5
The Stars have been getting their chances 5-on-5, but all series they’ve struggled to convert.
That was evident again in Tuesday’s loss.
The Stars finished with a significant 26-15 advantage in scoring chances 5-on-5. But the Wild extended their 5-on-5 scoring advantage in the series to 10-3 with goals by Mats Zuccarello and Michael McCarron.
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The Stars haven’t scored a 5-on-5 goal since the first period of Game 3. Jason Robertson scored when it was 4-on-4 and Dallas had pulled their goalie late for an extra skater.
Only five players have scored for the Stars this series and only two have scored 5-on-5 — Robertson and Wyatt Johnston.
The Stars need any of their depth forwards — from Mavrik Bourque to Justin Hryckowian to Jamie Benn — to break through.
Wild match Stars on special teams
While 5-on-5 has been the Stars’ weakness in scoring this season, the Stars had a sizable advantage on the power play entering Game 5, scoring eight goals on the man advantage to Minnesota’s three.
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But the Wild neutralized that advantage Tuesday.
The Stars scored their lone goal on the power play. Miro Heiskanen, for the second straight game, scored a power-play goal off a shot from the point. The Stars were unable to convert on their other three chances.
But the Wild scored on a power play of their own late in the second period. Matt Boldy scored with just over 30 seconds left in the period shortly after the Stars went down a penalty killer. Forward Arttu Hyry, who has been a key piece on the PK this series, left the game early in the second period with a lower-body injury and never returned.
The Wild hadn’t scored a power-play goal since early in Game 3 and struggled without one of their top-unit players, Zuccarello, who had missed three games with an injury. But the Wild man advantage had no trouble connecting again with Zuccarello back in the lineup.
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Zuccarello also scored a 5-on-5 goal in his first game back — Minnesota’s first of the game.
Stars get little support from trade deadline pieces
Of Dallas’ two pick-ups at the trade deadline, neither have made much of a positive impact on this series. One has been in the lineup, and the other hasn’t.
Stars defenseman Tyler Myers, who has struggled defensively all series, especially with clearing pucks, had another rough night.
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The Wild took a 1-0 lead just 3:51 into the game when Kirill Kaprizov was denied by Stars goalie Jake Oettinger before Myers chased the puck and left Zuccarello wide open to finish the play.
Myers also took an interference penalty in the second period and was then left chasing a scoring play in the third, finishing with the worst plus-minus on the team at minus-2.
Meanwhile, the Stars also added forward Michael Bunting at the trade deadline, who finished with 14 goals in 74 games this series and was meant to be a middle-six addition.
He has not played in any of the five games this series, but given the scoring issues, the Stars may need to take a look at Bunting ahead of Game 6.
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Matt Boldy remains a problem
The Stars have struggled all series against Wild left wing Matt Boldy, and he again rose to the occasion.
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Boldy scored another critical goal. After ending Game 4 in overtime, he scored a power play goal Tuesday that put the Wild up 2-1 in the second intermission, forcing the Stars to play catch up. He also assisted on Kaprizov’s empty netter to make it 4-2.
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Boldy also scored twice in Game 1. He only trails Robertson, who scored late in Game 5 to tally a goal for the fifth straight game.
In each of the last two games, Boldy has had a goal disallowed as well. He had one taken off the board in overtime in Game 4 for an illegal kick then had a power-play goal in the first period Tuesday night taken away when the Stars successfully challenged for goaltender interference. Boldy pushed in Oettinger’s pad before scoring.