Wild Take 3-2 Series Lead Over Stars with 4-2 Victory in Game 5

The Minnesota Wild defeated the Dallas Stars 4-2 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night, taking a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 is scheduled for Thursday in St. Paul.

Game 5 Summary

Mats Zuccarello scored early in his return from a head injury to give the Wild a 1-0 lead, marking his first goal of the series. Matt Boldy added a power-play goal in the second period. Michael McCarron scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, and Kirill Kaprizov sealed the victory with an empty-net goal, finishing with a goal and two assists.

Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt made 20 saves in the win.

Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson scored for the Stars. Robertson has scored in every game of the series.

"This one's in the books. What we do from now until Game 6 is going to determine how we play, and our focus now is Game 6." — Wild coach John Hynes

Injuries

• Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin left the game early in the second period with a lower-body injury. He was later observed on crutches with a boot on his right foot.
• Stars forward Arttu Hyry sustained a lower-body injury midway through the second period.

Series Statistics

The Wild have dominated at even strength throughout the series:

• Wild have outscored the Stars 14-4 at even strength and 11-3 at five-on-five
• Dallas has not scored a five-on-five goal in 207 minutes and 53 seconds

Historical Context

According to NHL data, the winner of Game 5 when a series is tied 2-2 has won the series 79.4% of the time historically.

Upcoming Schedule

• Game 6: Thursday in St. Paul
• Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday in Dallas
• The winner of the series will face the Colorado Avalanche in the second round.