Stars Host Wild in Game 1 of Western Playoffs

The Dallas Stars host the Minnesota Wild on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

The Central Division rivals split their four regular-season meetings 2-2, combining for 26 goals across the matchups. Their most recent encounter on April 9 ended with a 5-4 Stars victory that featured intense physicality, including 12 roughing penalties, six for each team. Dallas enters the series with home-ice advantage after finishing the regular season with a 50-21-12 record, while Minnesota posted 46-24-12. The best-of-seven series marks a rematch of playoff clashes in 2016 and 2023, both of which Dallas won in six games.

Both teams boast potent offenses led by pairs of 40-goal scorers, a rare feat this season. For the Stars, Jason Robertson tallied 45 goals and 51 assists for 96 points, while Wyatt Johnston added 45 goals and 41 assists. Minnesota counters with Kirill Kaprizov’s 45 goals and 44 assists for 89 points, alongside Matthew Boldy’s 42 goals and 43 assists. Over their final 10 games, the Stars went 7-2-1, averaging 3.3 goals scored and 2.5 allowed, while the Wild finished 6-4-0 with 3.6 goals...