Minnesota Wild beat Dallas Stars in overtime to level playoff series
Matt Boldy deflected home a crucial overtime winner as the Minnesota Wild secured a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday to level their NHL first-round playoff series.
The American forward tipped a shot from Jared Spurgeon past goaltender Jake Oettinger with just 28.9 seconds remaining in the first extra period.
It was a moment of immense relief for the 23-year-old, who had already seen two previous strikes controversially ruled out during the contest.
The vital triumph means this best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final is now finely balanced at 2-2 ahead of Tuesday’s pivotal Game 5 in Texas.
Special teams disparity threatens Wild
Dallas have consistently punished their opponents’ indiscipline throughout the matchup and capitalised on both of their regulation power plays on Saturday.
Jason Robertson opened the scoring by burying a rebound off Matt Duchene’s initial effort, before Miro Heiskanen rifled a spectacular shot into the top corner.
Conversely, the hosts struggled significantly with the man advantage, failing to convert on four opportunities to continue a dismal run of just one power-play goal in 15 attempts.
The St. Paul franchise clearly felt the absence of first-line winger Mats Zuccarello, who remains sidelined with an upper-body injury sustained in the opening fixture.
Even-strength dominance keeps Minnesota alive
Despite their glaring special teams woes, the home side has consistently dictated play at five-on-five, outscoring the Stars 9-4 in those situations across the series.
Rookie defenseman Brock Faber netted their first equaliser with a precise wrist shot that glanced off Heiskanen’s glove.
Later, veteran forward Marcus Foligno forced the game into overtime by poking in a loose puck from a frantic goalmouth scramble with just over five minutes left in the third period.
Swedish goaltender Jesper Wallstedt was instrumental in keeping the hosts afloat throughout the tie, delivering a sensational 43-save performance.
The Stars will now return to their home ice hoping to regain control of a compelling series, though they may be without defenseman Nils Lundkvist who departed in the second period after taking an inadvertent skate to the face.
