After winning two games on the road against division foes to start the season, the Dallas Stars play their home opener Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild, another Central Division foe.
The Stars last played Saturday when they beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in a shootout. Jason Robertson scored in regulation and in the tiebreaker, and Mikko Rantanen got the shootout winner against his old team in the third round to earn the second point.
The Tuesday contest will be the first home game for Stars coach Glen Gulutzan, who is starting his second tenure with the club. He led the club in 2011-12 and 2012-13.
Gulutzan had his team practice Monday on home ice for more than a half-hour. He recalled a time when then-Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett had his players practice with loud music blaring to imitate the conditions the club would face on the road.
“This is where you play,” he said. “Everybody talks about setting up game conditions … so if you want to practice, you should practice in the place you play.”
The Stars displayed a lot of offense in their two road wins, a pair of 5-4 decisions with Robertson and Wyatt Johnson each scoring twice. Rantanen and Thomas Hartley each produced a goal and three assists to tie for the team lead with four points.
Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger has yet to lose to the Wild in regulation. In 12 games against Minnesota, he sports a 7-0-3 record with a .922 save percentage and a 2.21 goals-against average.
While he went 2-0-2 in four meetings vs. the Wild last season, the Team USA netminder saved 107 of 114 shots (.939) for a 1.74 GAA.
The Wild not only have to travel to Dallas, but they must do so after fending off the Los Angeles Kings for a 4-3 shootout win in Saint Paul, Minn., on Monday night.
Minnesota led 3-0 after one period but saw Los Angeles get three of its own in the third period. Marco Rossi, who assisted on one of the Wild’s goals, was the only skater to succeed in four shootout rounds for either team.
The Wild scored all seven of their goals during a 1-1-0 homestand on the power play. In the Monday win, Jared Spurgeon, Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy put Minnesota on top, scoring during a 2:29 span.
Wild coach John Hynes noted his team has had some quality chances at even strength, but he added the big difference between playing 5-on-5 and 5-on-4 has been the “shot mentality” his team has exhibited on the latter.
“When you have that much talent on the ice, they’re so competitive on the puck,” he said. “They’re not overpassing or, you know, trying to play a little bit too cute.”
Kaprizov, who signed an eight-year, $136 million extension last month, and Boldy lead the team with three goals and seven points apiece. Eight Minnesota skaters have registered at least two assists through three games.
With Jesper Wallstedt making his season debut Monday night, it likely means goalie Filip Gustavson will return to the Wild lineup in Dallas. Gustavson is 1-1-0 with a 3.03 GAA, an .895 save percentage and a shutout.
The 27-year-old Swede is 5-3-0 against Dallas, but he has held the Stars in check, logging a 1.87 GAA and a .943 save percentage.
