Wild Take Game 1 Against Stars In Dominant 6-1 Win
The Minnesota Wild are now up 1-0 against the Dallas Stars in Round 1 of the 2026 NHL Playoffs. They took the first game fantastically on April 18.
Wild and Stars Regular Season Breakdown
It’s not an inspiring start to the Stars‘ playoff efforts, though they made it to the Western Conference Finals after losing to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 1 in the 2025 season. For the Wild, who lost 4-2 in the first round to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2025 Playoffs, it’s a huge improvement.
Both teams were impressive in the regular season, with the Stars scoring 112 standings points to finish 2nd in the Central Conference, 8 points ahead of the Wild. Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston each scored 45 goals, with Robertson scoring 96 points and Johnston 86. Dallas ranked 3rd in the NHL in standings points, and Minnesota ranked 7th.
For Minnesota, Kirill Kaprizov scored 45 goals and 89 points, while Matt Boldy had 42 goals and 85 points. Quinn Hughes scored just 7 goals but 69 assists.
Robertson ranked 10th in NHL regular-season rankings in points; he and Kaprizov tied for 4th in goals, with Boldy tying for 9th; Hughes placed 8th in terms of assists; and rookie Wild Goalie Jesper Wallstedt placed 2nd in terms of SV% with 0.916.
Wallstedt and the other Minnesota goalie, Filip Gustavsson, and Stars Goalie Jake Oettinger tied for 3rd in terms of shutouts with 4 each. Hughes placed 5th in terms of points and 2nd in terms of assists among all NHL defensemen, while Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen placed 9th in points with 63 and 7th in assists with 54. With two of the top teams in the league, one would expect a close battle, but that wasn’t the case in Game 1.
Game 1 Recap
This was a true blowout, with the Stars playing poorly and the Wild being at their best. Wallstedt shone in goal, saving 27 shots. Oettinger saved 23 shots, and the teams ended tied on shots on goal with 28.
Power play action got the game going in the right direction for the Wild, as Joel Erikkson Ek scored in both the first and third periods on a power play. Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman scored once, while Boldy scored twice, including the last goal into an empty net.
For the Stars, Robertson was the bright spot, scoring on a power play in the second period. The teams virtually tied in terms of faceoffs won, with Dallas winning 50.8% and Minnesota winning 49.2%. The Wild had the three stars of the game: Wallstedt, Kaprizov with 1 goal and 2 assists, and Mats Zuccarello, who assisted on 3 goals.
Even though Oettinger gave up four goals in two periods, first-year Head Coach Glen Gulutzan said that he didn’t consider pulling him. “Nothing for me was on our goaltending. For me, it was certainly on our specialty teams needing to be better, and our 5-on-5 play wasn’t good enough.”
“We didn’t get our forecheck rolling, that’s for sure,” Dallas right wing Mikko Rantanen said. “That’s why they were quickly getting pucks out of their [defensive] zone, and we only started to that basically in the third and at the end of the second period. That’s definitely one thing; we want to make them defend more because they were kind of on us for sure for most of the second period.”
I was definitely nervous,” Wallestedt said after the game. “I think it shows that it means something to you. I like a little bit of nerves. I think it’s something good. There were definitely some nerves throughout the day and then a little bit extra rolling into the game. But after the national anthem was over and the first couple pucks started coming, you’re good. I wanted to play and I felt like I have been going good. I was a little surprised (to get the start). But I was very excited as soon as I got the news. I just wanted to make sure I was ready today.”
What’s Next?
The Stars and the Wild will face off for Game 2 on April 20. The Wild will have to maintain their level of play, and the Stars will have to rebound quickly to get past their opponents.
