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The Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 at the Xcel Energy Center Saturday.
The Wild (6-10-0) broke a 2-2 tie with Marek Zidlicky scoring from behind the net for his first goal of the season. He sent a pass to the front of the net that Nicklas Grossman deflected past Alexander Auld at the 18:12 mark of the second period.
The Wild got on the board first with a shorthanded goal when Cal Clutterbuck sent a rifle wrist shot over the glove shoulder of Auld. He made the play by beating the Stars defenseman to a loose puck at the Wild’s blue line and raced two-on-one. Shane Hnidy sent the puck up the boards before Clutterbuck got to it to pick up an assist.
Mikko Koivu bounced a shot off Auld’s skate into the net to give the Wild a 2-0 lead at the 17:58 mark of the first period. Zidlicky recorded an assist on the goal.
The Wild dominated the first period to hold the edge in shots on goal 17-4. The Wild rode the early barrage to a final 37-21 edge.
Loui Eriksson got the Stars (7-4-6) on the board at the 3:33 mark of the second period with a power play goal. Eriksson was credited with the goal, but Nick Schultz was the player that put the puck in the net. Eriksson attempted to make a goal-mouth pass to Steve Ott, but Schultz tried to deflect the puck into the corner.
The Stars tied the game at 2-2 with a power play on a tip by Eriksson on the backdoor from a shot by Brad Richards. The penalty occurred when Brent Burns hit a Stars player before the puck got there. It was a penalty, but the referees had not called it all game. The Stars continually hit the Wild players without the puck.
Koivu was called for a slashing penalty for retaliating to a blatant check from behind by Stephane Robidas. The hit Robidas made is the most dangerous play in hockey.
No. 3 Star: Martin Havlat. The Wild wing did not get on the score sheet, but had his best game as a member of the Wild.
No. 2 Star: Loui Eriksson. The Stars wing scored two power play goals.
No. 1 Star: Cal Clutterbuck. The Wild wing scored the first goal of the game shorthanded and had a strong physical game.
