en-us SportSpyder - The Latest Dallas Stars News https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/news Wyatt Johnston’s clutch power play goal in the second overtime period helped Dallas take its first lead of the series over Minnesota Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:46:55 GMT Mike Heika https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56368979 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56368979 false false Wyatt Johnston's power-play heroics in double overtime snatched Game 3 for the Stars, capping a wild, penalty-filled clash. Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:26:15 GMT Taylor Newby https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56368714 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56368714 false false It depends on where a series sits, but Game 3 is usually an important one. In the Dallas Stars’ case, coming up with a victory against the Minnesota Wild could… Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:18:14 GMT Alex Chauvancy https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56368605 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56368605 false false Matt Duchene and Wyatt Johnston talk about the special teams battle tonight, relying on the penalty killers throughout the game, and the play on the overtime goal. Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:27:35 GMT https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56368052 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56368052 false false Originally, I had 300 words written about sandwiches to start this Afterwords off. I’ll pause for a moment to allow you to ponder that. Perhaps it was my 1:00 AM brain speaking (and maybe still is, since it’s only 30 minutes later and I’m still not sure if I should have deleted it), but the analogy made sense in my mind — the most important part about the sandwich is bread, because that’s what makes it a sandwich . Similarly, what often decides a hockey game is not necessarily what happens in the middle, but what happens at the beginning and the end. The “bread” of the game, if you will. (You can see why I decided to CTRL-A + DEL). The Dallas Stars once again did not play a “perfect” Game 3 last night (technically this morning too) in Minnesota. In fact, the “middle” was not very appetizing at all, considering they gave up three unanswered goals and looked like they were heading for another series deficit. But they did have a perfect beginning to the game, as well as a good enough end to win things in double overtime. After all, those three goals by the Minnesota Wild would have been a lot worse had Dallas not already built a 2-0 lead. After Marcus Foligno’s about how the Stars couldn’t hang 5-on-5 with the Wild, it was pretty funny to watch the Wild immediately take a penalty and then give up a power play goal just over a minute in, courtesy of Mikko Rantanen and Matt Duchene. And then Jason Robertson, a.k.a. Mr. Automatic, of course managed to score in his third consecutive game to extend the lead and ensure that us Stars fans never shut up about his Olympic snub, regardless of the results of that Gold Medal game. And then of course we had the end… of regulation, in which Duchene notched his third point of the night by scoring the game-tying goal halfway into the third. The Stars continued to finish strong as time expired and we headed into the first overtime… which admittedly was not very good for Dallas as a whole, given their whole two shots on net, two penalties taken, and overall inability to maintain any real possession with the long change. Kind of puts a damper on the whole sandwhich analogy, huh? But the second overtime was all Dallas, complete with their own pair of power plays. And at the end of the night, the Wild learned the hard way that you just can’t keep taking penalties against the Stars if you expect to win in the long run, as the other Mr. Automatic in Wyatt Johnston scored a tip that would make Joe Pavelski a very proud professional billet dad: What a deflectionin double overtime.— So thanks in part to the strong start but mostly the strong finish(es), the Stars managed to reclaim home ice advantage and take the series lead. Again, it wasn’t perfect by any means, but you hardly ever get “perfect” in the playoffs, and when you do, it’s not . And while I honestly would still expect this series to end up tied 2-2 after Game 4, let’s just say that I’d much rather be the team looking to avoid that scenario then the team that feels like they desperately have to force it. • Is it possible to be frustrated about a power play that went 3/8 in the playoffs, including the game-tying goal that forced overtime and the game-winner two periods later? I mean, I know I just went on and on about how it’s the start and finish that end up mattering most, and that’s pretty much how the Stars’ power play delivered. But the Wild took three non-offsetting penalties in the second period, none of which the Stars were able to capitalize on. More specifically, two of those combined for forty seconds of 5-on-3, and not only did the Stars fail to score then nor the next 80 seconds with the man advantage, but the Wild scored to take the lead literally right after that. In other words, if the Stars were going to score three power play goals (or heck, just two), couldn’t one of those been there in the second, given that it would have likely resulted in a 3-2 lead instead of a deficit, and thus potentially won the game in regulation and allowed us all to go to bed at a reasonable time? I suppose you could call frustration an example of “suffering from success” — after all, you expect the Stars to score there because they’re such an elite power play, which means pretty much any time they don’t feels like a failure or a missed opportunity. And when it comes to keeping things in perspective, I’m much happier about where the Stars’ power play unit is now compared to the last three playoff runs. • The Stars’ penalty kill, meanwhile, is not an elite unit, but boy did they play like one. The Wild, who were just behind the Stars as the third best power play unit in the regular season, went just 1-for-7 on the night, scoring on their first but failing on the next six. Three of those, by the way, came in the third period while they were trying to extend (or reclaim for one) their lead, and two of which were in the first overtime period. And yet the Stars penalty kill unit stood strong, highlighted by Radek Faksa who spent ap... Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:12:28 GMT Tyler Mair https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56367876 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56367876 false false In today's daily, the Devils owners slow burn leading to the Tom Fitzgerald fire, Quinn Hughes & Wild down to Stars, and more. Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:29:43 GMT James Nichols https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56367480 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56367480 false false Dallas's special teams were the difference in its thrilling, double-overtime win over the Wild in Game 3 of the teams' first-round series. Thu, 23 Apr 2026 11:39:30 GMT Mark Lazerus https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56367011 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56367011 true false Glen Gulutzan talks about the work on special teams throughout the year, defending against Minnesota’s elite offense, and staying confident on the power play. Thu, 23 Apr 2026 10:53:35 GMT https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56366605 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56366605 false false #texasrangers #dallascowboys #105.3thefan Thu, 23 Apr 2026 10:41:30 GMT 105.3 The Fan https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56366535 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56366535 false false Jason Robertson talks about the pressure going into the second overtime, amount of special teams throughout the game, and the play on the game winning goal. Thu, 23 Apr 2026 10:15:06 GMT https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56366314 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56366314 false false Deadspin | Stars take 2-1 series lead, edge Wild on Wyatt Johnston's double-OT goal Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:42:08 GMT Mike Sullivan https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56366115 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56366115 false false Deadspin | Stars take 2-1 series lead, edge Wild on Wyatt Johnston's 2OT goal Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:42:05 GMT Mike Sullivan https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56366114 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56366114 false false Deadspin | NHL roundup: Stars top Wild in double OT to take 2-1 series lead Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:41:58 GMT Mike Sullivan https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56366111 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56366111 false false Radek Faksa talks about the extra work on the penalty kill tonight, the importance of going up 2-1 in the series, and looking ahead to Game 4. Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:03:52 GMT https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56365923 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/dallas-stars/articles/56365923 false false