Dallas 4, Minnesota 1
When: 8:30 PM ET, Friday, February 24, 2012
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Referees:
Dennis LaRue, Brian Pochmara
Linesmen:
Darren Gibbs, Don Henderson
Attendance:
13144
By SportsDirect Inc.
STARS 4, WILD 1: Tom Wandell scored a pair of goals and Kari Lehtonen made 28 saves as Dallas topped Minnesota for its first three-game winning streak since mid-December.
Loui Eriksson and Eric Nystrom also tallied for the Stars, who improved to 4-1-1 in their last six contests.
Wandell opened the scoring less than nine minutes into the game with his fifth goal of the season. After being stopped on a wraparound attempt, Wandell beat Niklas Backstrom with a snap shot for his second tally in three contests.
Wandell capped his first two-goal performance since Oct. 21, 2010 with an empty-netter in the final minute of the third.
Eriksson gave the Stars a 2-0 lead with 2:20 remaining in the session. Michael Ryder dished the puck from along the right-wing boards to Eriksson, who glided to his left before roofing the puck into a vacant net to reach the 20-goal plateau for the fourth straight campaign.
Dallas chased Backstrom just under four minutes into the second as Nystrom converted a pass from behind the net by Radek Dvorak to make it 3-0.
Backstrom made 11 saves before being replaced by Matt Hackett, who turned aside all 10 shots he faced.
Devin Setoguchi scored during a two-man advantage in the third for the Wild, who have lost eight of 10 overall and 17 of their last 18 visits to Dallas.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota has scored a total of six goals over its last six road games. ... The Stars have captured 23 of their last 31 meetings with the Wild. ... Dallas All-Star Jamie Benn missed his fifth straight contest with a cut behind his left knee. ... Hackett has stopped 94 of 96 shots in four appearances this season.
Top Game Performances
| Minnesota |
|
Dallas |
|
Devin Setoguchi 1 |
Points |
Tom Wandell 2 |
|
Devin Setoguchi 1 |
Goals |
Tom Wandell 2 |
|
Dany Heatley 1 |
Assists |
Adam Burish 1 |
|
Devin Setoguchi 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Matt Hackett 1.000 |
Save Percentage |
Kari Lehtonen .966 |
|
Niklas Backstrom 11 |
Saves |
Kari Lehtonen 28 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Minnesota
|
29 |
1 |
1-6 |
2-2 |
4 |
36 |
| Dallas
|
25 |
4 |
0-2 |
5-6 |
12 |
27 |
Upcoming Games
-
Dallas will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Stars have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .533 after a loss.
-
Minnesota will play their next game at home against San Jose. The Wild have a W/L % of .593 after a win and .324 after a loss.
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