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Wild dominate Stars in Game 1 behind Boldy's two goals and Wallstedt's strong playoff debut

By The Associated Press

/ CBS Texas

DALLAS (AP) – Matt Boldy had two goals and an assist, Joel Eriksson Ek scored twice on the power play, and rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt stopped 27 shots in his postseason debut to help the Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 6-1 on Saturday in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series.

Kirill Kaprizov added a goal and two assists, and Mats Zuccarello had three helpers for the Wild, who have lost nine consecutive playoff series since 2015. The matchup between Central Division rivals had been expected after both finished behind Presidents' Trophy winner Colorado.

Strong start for Minnesota 

"A great stepping stone for us," said defenseman Brock Faber, back after missing the end of the regular season with an illness.

"I think throughout the lineup tonight we came in and the guys were focused," coach John Hynes said. "The thing I like is when we came in, I thought that we executed well. When it was time to check, we checked well. But I just thought we had the right mindset in how we need to play. And that was throughout the lines."

Game 2 is Monday night in Dallas.

Stars' slow starts continue 

Dallas allowed the first goal in 15 of its 18 playoff games last year and gave up three power‑play goals in a 5-4 win over the Wild just nine days earlier.

The Stars trailed for good only 5½ minutes into the series when Eriksson Ek scored on a pass from Boldy to make it 1-0. Eriksson Ek added another power‑play goal past Jake Oettinger in the third.

Even though the Stars have reached the Western Conference Final in each of the past three seasons, they are 1-7 in Game 1s at home during that span.

"I don't even know what the record was coming into it," said Glen Gulutzan, who returned last summer for his second stint as the Stars coach. "The first period was tight, they executed on the power play. But we couldn't get our game going at all in the second. I thought that they certainly, to a man, were better than us."

Wild surge in the second period 

Kaprizov and Boldy – the first Wild teammates with 40 goals in the same season – scored during a three‑goal burst in the first 6½ minutes of the second period for a 4-0 lead. Ryan Hartman scored in between after assisting on Kaprizov's goal.

Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston, the first Stars teammates with 40 goals in the same season, combined on Dallas' lone goal. Robertson scored on a backhander with 4:50 left in the second after taking a pass from Johnston on the power play.

Wallstedt sharp in playoff debut 

Minnesota started the 23‑year‑old Wallstedt over playoff‑experienced Filip Gustavsson, who made 51 saves in his postseason debut three years ago – also in Dallas.

"He's done a lot so far," Faber said. "I think we've got a lot of belief in both of those guys, and to be honest, I didn't think about it for a second. … We've got a lot of good pieces around here that keep everyone calm."

Wallstedt's first NHL game was a 7-2 loss in Dallas in January 2024, but he had played only five NHL games before this season. He went 4-1 with a 1.82 goals‑against average and .936 save percentage in his last five regular‑season starts, including four shutouts in a six‑game span early this season.

The Wild still led only 1-0 with Dallas on the power play midway through the first period when Wallstedt, screened and looking right through traffic, reached back left to glove a shot by Robertson.

Oettinger, who grew up about 30 miles from Minnesota's home arena, made 23 saves in his 11th postseason series as the Stars' starter.

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