Minnesota Wild left wing Marcus Foligno (17) works out prior to Game 1 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoffs hockey series between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Julio Cortez/AP
The Minnesota Wild missed out on making some franchise history Monday night against the Dallas Stars.
Over 15 postseason appearances in Minnesota’s 25-season history as the Wild, the organization has never gone up 2-0 in a playoff series. That streak continued after a 4-2 loss to the Stars in Game 2 at American Airlines Center.
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Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 28 shots, including a point-blank attempt by Kirill Kaprizov with 2 1/2 minutes to play when the Wild were on a power play, one of many special teams opportunities in a whistle-filled contest.
Here’s what Wild coaches and players said after the loss to the Stars:
Head coach John Hynes
On Mats Zuccarello and Yakov Trenin injuries: “They are both upper body.”
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On what Dallas did to disrupt the offensive chances: “I thought it was hard fought by both teams. They [Dallas] were going to play hard. I thought we played hard, as well. From a competitive aspect, there wasn’t much difference. I thought we had some good pushes in the third.”
Forward Marcus Foligno
On if he was worried the hit on Thomas Harley was going to be a major: “No. … I mean, he interferes with me, and there’s a stanchion in the way. Yeah, I think there’s an interference call on him, and at that point, do you think I’m gonna think about smashing a guy’s head in that quick of time? No. It’s unfortunate that there’s glass in the way.”
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On where things got away in the second period: “I think we got to do a better job, I mean, the odd-man’s, right? I thought we played a really good game. Probably their best game, you know, meaningful game. And, yeah, we didn’t get fazed by it. Was really good by us. And just got to be smarter in some areas, and we get to go back home and in front of our crowd.”
On discipline being an area to play smarter: “Yeah, yeah, they want it. I mean, they’re looking to play five-on-four. I mean, that’s their game. They can’t hang with us five-on-five. So, just same thing as before, we got to just be smarter, and myself included. But it’s a heated game out there. You’re gonna have emotional swings, and learn from it. And we got a split series.”
On if Colin Blackwell’s hit was clean: “Yeah, I mean, hey, listen, I’m trying to be smarter out there. And if I go after Blackwell, it’s putting their team on the power play. So, I mean, you can argue the hit. It’s clean. I mean, I think it is. And it’s unfortunate Trenny gets caught there in a vulnerable position. But there’s a lot of emotions in this game. I thought we did a really good job controlling it.”
Forward Matt Boldy
On the result of the game: “It was a great game. We expected that from them [Dallas] to come out and have an answer. It was hard fought game. It is what it is and we’re onto the next.”
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On the physicality in the game: “It’s what it is. That’s what playoff hockey is about. The fans and everyone watching are seeing how different it is from regular-season hockey and that’s good. It’s going to be a hard season with not a lot of time. You got to make space and find ways to score.”
Defenseman Brock Faber
On losing Mats Zuccarello before and Yakov Trenin early in the game: “It sucks. Injuries suck, alright. Hopefully, they’ll be back soon. It is what it is. They [Dallas] have injuries. We have injuries and you got to play through them.”
On the competitiveness in the game: “They’re [Dallas] a good hockey team. It’s going to be a battle of a series and we knew that coming in. We knew that they were going to respond this game. We’re the tougher team. We have to be tougher mentality. That’ll only be good for us. We had our chances. We had our looks and it’s on to the next. That’s how it is. We’re physically tougher. Mentally, the scrums drain the life out of the bench and positivity. There’s a time and place for it. They had the upper hand in that tonight. Again, we had our chances to win.”
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Defenseman Zach Bogosian
On the Yakov Trenin play: “Would love to have that back. Things happen quick out there. I certainly feel bad about it for sure.”
On physicality and special teams in the game: “I mean we’re comfortable playing in any style. I think we just got to channel our emotions in the right way. [The Stars] have a good team, they have a skilled team. You put them five-on-four and they’re going to make plays. So, we believe in what we can do, no matter what. Whether it’s five-on-five, on the power play or killing penalties, any scenario we’re comfortable with. Certainly, have to have a little more gamesmanship and do things at the right time.”