3 Takeaways From the Wild’s 2OT Loss to the Stars in Game 3 – The Hockey Writers – Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild hosted the Dallas Stars for Game 3 of Round 1 on Wednesday evening, Apr. 22. It was a late-night puck drop, and the Wild looked to get back ahead in the series after falling 4-2 in Dallas in Game 2 on Monday night, Apr. 20. Both Mats Zuccarello and Yakov Trenin were out due to injuries, which meant Nico Sturm and Bobby Brink were in. 

Jesper Wallstedt was in the net once again, and the game started out in favor of the Stars, who got an early power play and didn’t waste any time. They scored again later in the period to take a two-goal lead, but the Wild responded to make it 2-1 to end the period. The Wild took control in the second period and went from behind to ahead 3-2 by the time the period ended.

The Stars tied it up and forced overtime. One overtime wasn’t enough, and the Stars took the win in double overtime and took a 2-1 lead in the series. In this article, we’ll look at a few takeaways, starting with the special teams struggles, followed by the bright spots, because there were a couple. 

Wild Had Chances

This is something Wild fans have heard many times over the seasons, and that is how they had their fair share of chances and couldn’t convert on them. While the arena was definitely full of fans angry at the officials, the Wild did have a lot of power play chances, and they had two in the first overtime alone that would normally be more than enough for a team to get a win. 

The Wild had seven chances overall to the Stars’ eight, and they converted on one while the Stars converted on three, including the game-winner. It’s a familiar story with the Wild and Stars; everyone knew the power play was going to be important, and in Game 3, it went the way of the Stars. 

“I think it was there at times, but it wasn’t there enough. Obviously, they scored more than we did on the power play, so you know we’ll dive into that too. We knew coming into the series that’s going to be a big part of it. So we gotta be better,” said head coach John Hynes to the media in his postgame press conference about the power play looks, and continued on where he’d like to see the special teams, “Well, we lost it tonight, so it’s not good enough. We knew coming in that it was going to be a factor, and I would say that we had it in Game 1, we didn’t have it in Game 2, and we didn’t have it tonight…” 

“It’s hockey, they gotta hard job too, it’s not very easy for them, it is what it is, I think, yeah, it’s a lot of special teams for sure, but yeah, there’s a lot of penalties out there as well. They’re doing their best, we’re trying to do our best and we had a bunch of power plays, they had a bunch of power plays, not like they had 20 and we had one so yeah it’s like I said it’s not easy for them either,” said Matt Boldy to the media after the game when he was asked about the penalties that were missed and the ones that were called. 

Wild’s McCarron “Big Mac” Shines Bright 

Despite the loss, there were some bright spots in the game, and one of them nearly won the game for them. This player has been a solid addition to the roster since he joined the Wild at the trade deadline, and that player is Michael McCarron. He stands at 6-foot-6 off of skates, and he makes his presence known, but not always in a physical way. He’s a great piece on the penalty kill and was key in the Wild getting out of a penalty kill late in the second that led to him scoring. 

He received a pass at the Wild’s blue line from Nick Foligno and he was off to the races, once inside the zone he ripped a shot past Jake Oettinger that gave the Wild the 3-2 lead going into the third period. He continued to be a factor all night, and although the Wild lost, it wasn’t on his shoulders as he did the best he could all night. He was a difference maker, and if he continues to push the way he did, he’ll find his way onto the scoresheet more often. 

“It does seem like the longer this series is going on, it is getting tighter and more competitive and contested out there: Yeah, it’s more of the same, two really good teams where we play tight hockey. We’re gonna have to continue to get our chances in front of the net, work them low. I think it’s just gonna be more of the same. I mean, I don’t know how much better you can get, how much worse you can, I think we’re both playing really good hockey right now, and we’re gonna have to find our edge,” said McCarron to the media after the game about the length of the series and how it affects the play. 

Wild’s Second Line Finds Success

The Wild found themselves in a bit of a hole to start the game as the Stars jumped to a 2-0 lead and looked like they were going to take control of the game. Instead, the Wild responded with a goal late in the first on a power play, and that led to them shifting the momentum their way in the second period. They eventually took the lead, and the majority of it was because of the efforts of their second line. 

Marcus Johansson scored on the power play in the first period to get some energy back into the building and gave his team the boost they needed heading into intermission. In the second period, that line was all over the ice, and it paid off as Joel Eriksson Ek scored off a great feed by Matt Boldy to tie the game 2-2, and the building erupted. Although it wouldn’t last, that line was easily the strongest the Wild had in Game 3.

“Yeah, Matt’s, I mean, he’s an ultra competitor as we know, and glad he was able to come back, and he made a big impact in the game for us,” said Hynes after the game when asked about what kind of player Boldy is and how he was able to come back into the game after taking a stick to the head.

The Wild will have a couple of days off to digest this game and figure out ways to be better for Game 4, which will take place on Saturday afternoon, Apr. 25. They will then head back to Dallas for Game 5, which will be Tues. Apr. 28