Dallas Stars Vs. Minnesota Wild: Stars and Wild Even At 3-3 After Two Periods

Could another team in a “win and in” situation be due for a final day flop? The Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild are tied 3-3 at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paulafter two periods. If they do not come back to win in regulation or overtime, they will be eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Chicago Blackhawks - who also lost in a win and in situation - would be in the post-season.

At 5:38, the Wild got their first power play of the game. Brandon Segal hauled down a Minnesota player in the slot. The Wild were able to cash in on the ensuing power play. Andrew Brunette made a great pass to Jared Spurgeon, who hauled a one-timer past Kari Lehtonen to make it 2-2. It was the fourth goal of Spurgeon’s career at 7:19 of the second.

A little more than four minutes later, the Wild struck again on another backhander. Kyle Brodziak set up Colton Gillies for the backhand. After spending sometime in the AHL, Gillies has returned to the big show, and gets his first goal of the year. It’s a big one, however, and it made it 3-2 Minnesota. The Stars started to get on their heels quite a bit, and they seemed to have lost a lot of momentum in general in the third.

Despite this, the Stars eventually got back on their feet, and a two-man advantage certainly helped. Gillies and Greg Zanon took penalties within 22 seconds of each other at 17:36 and 17:58. Alex Goligoski found the net at 18:17 on a feed from Eriksson. Eriksson now has three assists, while Goligoski now has two, and his 14th goal of the year to make it a 3-3 tie. Dallas is 2-for-4 on the power play, while Minnesota is 1-for-1.

It has been a rough day for the goaltenders. Kari Lehtonen has made 14 saves, while Jose Theodore has made 15. The Stars are out-shooting the Wild, 18-15.