Stars Lose In Minnesota
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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Getting the first power-play goal of the season is important for any hockey team. Even if it comes in November.
After going 0-for-October on the power play, the calendar change apparently did some good for the Minnesota Wild. Power-play goals by left winger Thomas Vanek and right winger Nino Niederreiter broke open a close game and the Wild stayed perfect at home with a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night.
Center Mikael Granlund and defenseman Matthew Dumba also scored for Minnesota (7-3-0), which came into the game as the only NHL team without a power-play goal this season.
“Let’s talk about the power play!” Yeo exclaimed with a relieved grin when he met the media after the game. “Power play, we were due. They did a great job, too. I had a feeling when we got one, in that game, we would get more than one. The way it’s been going, it definitely relieves a burden, there’s no question.”
Goalie Darcy Kuemper had 19 saves for the Wild, who are 5-0-0 at Xcel Energy Center.
Left winger Vernon Fiddler had the only goal for the Stars (4-3-4), who lost to Anaheim in
Dallas on Friday night. They got 26 saves from goalie Kari Lehtonen as their winless streak grew to four games (0-2-2).
“There’s energy missing in our game. It’s as simple as that,” Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. “We’re getting beat to pucks, we’re not winning enough of the small battles, and it’s as simple as that. The energy level of our team isn’t good enough to win games. We started off good, but the energy level slowly declined and they took over the game.”
Vanek, the highly touted former University of Minnesota player, hadn’t scored a regular-season goal since last March when he was playing for the Montreal Canadiens. However, he leads the Wild in assists.
“It was a relief for both, to get that first one out of the way,” he said. “And then to finally get that power-play goal so we can stop talking about the power play being 0 for 100 or whatever it is. It was a relief for all of us.”
Stars right winger Ales Hemsky left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return.
Dallas got the first power play of the game late in the opening period and it nearly turned disastrous when Wild left winger Jason Zucker had a short-handed rush to the net, forcing Lehtonen to make a pad save.
Another Wild penalty in quick succession gave the Stars more than a minute of 5-on-3 power play, but they managed just one shot on goal during the two-man advantage.
“Sometimes, when things get a little bit tougher, you tend to squeeze your sticks a little bit tighter,” Fiddler said. “The power play was clicking before and now we’re not getting those goals from the PP that we were getting. When we get a 5-on-3 you hope to get some chances but those are things you have to work on in practice.”
The Wild failed to score on their first power play of the game, falling to a league-worst 0 of 28 this season early in the second, but they got on the board with an even-strength goal.
Stars defenseman Jordie Benn’s clearing attempt from the corner was intercepted by Granlund at the blue line. With Wild left winger Zach Parise parked at the top of the crease, blocking Lehtonen’s view, Granlund netted his first goal of the season by zipping a wrist shot that beat the goalie on the glove side.
Dumba doubled the Wild lead with just the second goal of his career with a long-range shot through a crowd that eluded Lehtonen’s blocker. Dumba’s first career goal, more than a year earlier, also came vs. the Stars.
“I kind of had a bit of time to walk the line and didn’t see anything at first,” Dumba said, “but then I got to the middle of the ice and just saw a lane so I shot it.”
Dallas answered immediately, winning the ensuing center-ice faceoff and getting on the board eight seconds after Dumba’s goal. Streaking down the left side, Fiddler launched a rising shot that fooled Kuemper on the glove side, making the score 2-1.
Vanek, who signed a three-year, $19.5 million pact with Minnesota over the summer, scored and the Wild connected on a power play in the final minute of the second period, making it 3-1.
