Stars Lose To Wild
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DALLAS — For the second time in 12 days, defenseman Marco Scandella bailed out his team in overtime.
Scandella’s latest clinching goal came 2:04 into the extra frame on Friday when he tipped in a pass to give the Minnesota Wild a 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.
Scandella also scored the overtime game-winner in a 4-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 16, a game in which the Wild also blew a 3-0 lead, much like they did against the Stars.
“It’s an awesome feeling, especially the rollercoaster style of game that it was tonight,” Scandella said. “We could have quit after they tied it up, after they scored the fourth one. We still battled hard and we got the win.”
Scandella’s goal, his fifth, came when he tipped in a backhand pass from forward Zach Parise, one of three assists Parise had for the Wild. Left winger Thomas Vanek also had a goal and two assists, and goalie Darcy Kuemper stopped 41 of 45 shots.
Minnesota led 2-0 after one period and 3-0 midway through the second. Right winger Nino Niederreiter and left winger Jason Zucker scored in the first while center Mikael Granlund added a goal in the second.
Dallas then answered with three goals in the final 3:42 of the second to
make it a 3-3 game after 40 minutes. Right winger Ales Hemsky, center Tyler Seguin and left winger Erik Cole each lit the lamp for the Stars in the middle frame.
“Really liked our first period. Second period you could feel that we were coming out and we were definitely letting them be the aggressors,” Wild head coach Mike Yeo said.
Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski gave Dallas its first lead with a wrist shot from the right circle that beat Kuemper short side with 6:31 remaining. It was Goligoski’s first goal of the season.
However, the Wild answered, tying it at 4-4 when Vanek beat Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen short side with a wrister from the right circle with 1:52 remaining in regulation. Minnesota had the extra attacker after Kuemper left the ice with 2:01 remaining.
Niederreiter’s goal, his 11th of the season, came 8:41 into the game. After being left open in the slot, he knocked in a pass from Vanek.
The Wild doubled their lead with 2:31 left in the second when Zucker scored off a rebound. Defenseman Nate Prosser had his initial shot from the right circle denied on a pad save by Lehtonen. However, Zucker stormed in and scored his ninth by knocking in the carom with a backhand, Zucker’s fourth goal over the past five games.
Granlund’s goal, his third of the season and second against Dallas, made it 3-0 at 11:47 of the second when he beat Lehtonen with a wrist shot from the slot.
Hemsky started the Stars comeback with 3:42 left in the second when he finished with a wrist shot into the far side of the Wild net for his first goal as a Star. With Prosser in close proximity inside the right circle, Hemsky took the puck inside and then back out, creating enough space so he could shoot the puck under Kuemper’s right shoulder.
“I think that should take a weight off his shoulders obviously,” Stars head coach Lindy Ruff said of Hemsky’s first goal. “I was happy for him because it’s been a tough ride.”
Seguin then scored his NHL-leading 18th with 1:10 remaining in the second when his shot deflected in off Prosser at the far post. Kuemper had deflected Seguin’s wrist shot from the slot, but the puck floated toward the far post, glancing off Prosser before going in.
Cole then tied it at 3-3 with 11 seconds remaining in the second with a wrist shot from the right circle that beat Kuemper high on his short side. Cole received the puck from defenseman Trevor Daley near the Wild blue line before delivering his fifth of the season.
