Stars ride special teams as Hintz, Johnston power 5-2 win over Wild
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Dallas builds early cushion and survives third period push as Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnston headline a 5-2 win over Minnesota. Stars vs Wild recap, goal details, Oettinger.
If you like your home openers loud, Dallas delivered from the jump with a quick strike and a clinic on the man advantage. Esa Lindell's seeing-eye wrister at 5:37 set the tone, then Wyatt Johnston kept his early season heater sizzling with a power play rip at 16:18.
That two goal burst felt like a curtain lift at American Airlines Center, and the building never really downshifted.
The Stars doubled down on momentum right after intermission. Matt Duchene, who had buzz all night on entries, parked a power play snipe at 1:31 of the second, off clean puck touches from Mavrik Bourque and Thomas Harley.
Three nothing in a hurry is the exact blueprint Pete DeBoer wants to bottle. It was simple hockey and ruthless execution, and it put Minnesota on the rope for most of forty minutes.
Goal-by-goal scoring summary and special teams swing
Minnesota finally cracked the door with their own power play in the third. Matt Boldy wired home at 3:50, then Kirill Kaprizov leaned into the comeback vibe with another power play finish at 13:04.
For a few tense shifts, that crisp Dallas start looked like it might get erased. The Stars bent but did not break, and credit goes to a calm bench and the league's most underrated game manager between the pipes.
Jake Oettinger was the adult in the room, swallowing traffic and second looks while the Wild fired 41 shots. He kicked away 39 of them and never looked rattled through that third period surge.
Filip Gustavsson saw less rubber at the other end but gave up crucial goals on both Dallas power plays, which is the detail that swung the night. Empty netters from Radek Faksa at 18:18 and Roope Hintz at 19:50 restored order and sent folks home happy.
Final ledger reads 5-2 Stars, shots 41-25 Wild, faceoffs 54 percent Dallas. That is a tidy home opener box.
Hintz drives the bus, Johnston keeps scoring, and a Duchene scare
Roope Hintz authored the kind of first star performance coaches point to in film. He opened the scoring sequence on Lindell's goal, teed up Johnston's power play marker, then iced it with the late empty netter for a three point night.
Johnston's streak rolls on as he keeps finding soft spots on the flank and ripping through screens, and that Dallas top six looks terrifying when the puck is hopping for them.
There was one sour note in the third when Duchene exited after a collision with Jake Middleton. No penalty on the play, but tempers flared and Alexander Petrovic handled the receipts with an instigator and a fight.
The initial word is that the team will evaluate Duchene, and while that stings, the bigger picture is an unbeaten start with depth already showing up. It felt like a veteran win because it was, and it came with a little bite.
If you want the clean elevator take, here it is. Dallas won because their best players drove the bus early, their goalie owned the crisis window late, and their special teams went two for two while surrendering two that did not kill them.
Minnesota showed the spark you expect from a group with Kaprizov and Boldy in full flight, but they spent too long chasing the game to make it stick. That is October hockey separating the polished from the rusty.
Previously on Blade of steel
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 15 | 5 ANSWERS Stars ride special teams as Hintz, Johnston power 5-2 win over Wild Who impressed you most tonight | ||
| Hintz | 1 | 20 % |
| Johnston | 4 | 80 % |
| Oettinger | 0 | 0 % |
| Kaprizov | 0 | 0 % |
| List of polls | ||
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