DALLAS — After finishing second in the Central Division due to final day win by the Colorado Avalanche, the Dallas Stars will be the No. 2 seed and take on the No. 3 seed Minnesota Wild in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The best-of-seven series between the Stars (47-21-14, 108 points) and Wild (46-25-11, 103 points) begins Monday, April 17 at American Airlines Center.
If you haven't kept up with the team too closely and want to jump all in to #TexasHockey fever, no worries! We've got you covered. Here is everything you need to know about the opening round for the Stars.
Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild schedule
- Game 1 | Monday, April 17 at 8:30 p.m. | American Airlines Center | TV: ESPN2, SN360, TVAS2
- Game 2 | Wednesday, April 19 at 8:30 p.m. | American Airlines Center | TV: ESPN2, SN360, TVAS
- Game 3 | Friday, April 21 at 8:30 p.m. | Xcel Energy Center | TV: TBS, SN1, TVAS
- Game 4 | Sunday, April 23 at 5:30 p.m. | Xcel Energy Center | TV: TBS, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS
- Game 5 | Tuesday, April 25 at TBD | American Airlines Center * | TV: TBD
- Game 6 | Friday, April 28 at TBD | Xcel Energy Center * | TV: TBD
- Game 7 | Sunday, April 30 at TBD | American Airlines Center * | TV: TBD
* If necessary
Radio: Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 AM The Ticket will broadcast all Dallas Stars playoff games.
Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild season series
Dallas split the series with Minnesota, but earned points in every game against the Wild because they dropped two of the matchups in shootouts (getting one point in the standings for an overtime loss).
- Dec. 4: Wild 6, Stars 5 (shootout)
- Dec. 29: Stars 4, Wild 1
- Feb. 8: Wild 1, Stars 4
- Feb. 17: Stars 1, Wild 2 (shootout)
Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild playoff history
The Stars made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season. Last year, Dallas fell in a dramatic seven-game series against the Calgary Flames, losing 3-2 in overtime in Game 7. This is fourth playoff appearance in the past five years for the Stars and sixth in the last 10 seasons. The last playoff series the Stars won was the 2020 Western Conference Finals. Dallas fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals in six games.
The Wild is in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth straight season, and 10th time in the last 11 years. The Wild hasn’t won a playoff series since the 2014-15 season.
The last time Dallas and Minnesota played each other in the playoffs, the Stars won the series in six games (first round, 2016).
Players to watch/Stats
Dallas Stars
- #21 LW Jason Robertson: Stars leading scorer, top-10 NHL scorer, team's only All-Star
- #16 C Joe Pavelski: Top 5 +/- in NHL (+42), third on team in points (77)
- #29 G Jake Oettinger: Top 10 in NHL in both goals allowed per game and save percentage. Oettinger posted 64 saves in Game 7 against the Flames last season. His production will be crucial for a Stars win.
Minnesota Wild
- #32 G Filip Gustavsson / #29 G Marc-Andre Fleury: The younger, 24-year-old Gustavsson has become one of the hottest goaltenders in the league, ranking 2nd in goals allowed (2.1) and save percentage (93.1%) in the NHL. The more tenured Fleury, who has 165 playoff starts and won three Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, provides a formidable backup option. Minnesota coach Dean Evason has hinted at using both in the series.
- #97 LW Kirill Kaprizov: Wild's leading scorer with 75 points on the year
Dallas and Minnesota are two of the NHL's better defensive teams. The Stars rank third in the league in goals allowed per game (2.62) and Minnesota ranks seventh (2.67).
The offensive side of the game is where Dallas has the advantage. The Stars rank seventh in the NHL at 3.41 goals scored per game. The Wild are toward the bottom of the league in this metric (23rd) with 2.91 goals scored per game.
Ticket information
You can purchase single game tickets from the Stars website here.
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