Mar 29, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen (32) and defenseman Philip Larsen (36) celebrate the win over the Minnesota Wild at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Wild 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Last time the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild met, the Stars didn’t play their best game and lost with a score of 7-4. Last night, on the night Mike Modano was honored as a member of the Dallas Stars 20^th anniversary team, was also the day that Jaromir Jagr became the 12^th player in NHL history to register his 1,000^th assist. They also played a better game and earned two big points, knocking off the Minnesota Wild, 5-3.

The win on Friday pushed the Stars (16-14-3) one point out of eighth place in the Western Conference standings. The Stars were able to comeback after letting the Wild tie the game up in the second period, unlike many other games were they’ve blown the lead and lost.

The Stars started off the scoring in the first period when Ray Whitney rammed the puck past Matt Hackett’s blocker side on the power play after a faceoff win by Jamie Benn. The Stars extended their lead to 2-0 a little more than three minutes later in the period when Reilly Smith’s shot deflected off an Aaron Rome rocket from the left point that went wide, but Tomas Vincour knocked home the rebound.

The Wild made it 2-1 with 1:12 left in the period as Devon Setoguchi scored off a play started because of an Alex Goligoski turnover.  The Stars came close to extending it to 3-1 with just over 40 seconds left in the period, but Hackett made a spectacular glove save as Loui Eriksson tried to tuck the puck in the net.  It appeared the Stars had blown yet another lead off  the seventh goal of the season by Jared Spurgeon. The goal came off a rebound with 4:44 left in the second period while the Wild were on the power play. The Stars tried to make it 3-2 but Hackett made two specular saves on Jamie Benn and Eric Nystrom to end the period.

The Stars got the lead back 1:02 into the third period with a goal off the rush when Erik Cole banged home a rebound from the slot to put the Stars ahead 3-2. The Stars went on a two-minute five-on-three power play a little more than a minute later and quickly cashed in when Jamie Benn scored from the right circle to make it a 4-2 game at the 2:10 mark. That was also when Jaromir Jagr got his 1,000^th career assist, making him only the 12^th player in NHL history to do so.

The Stars increased their lead on the power play yet again when Cody Eakin got to a loose  puck in the crease and slipped it into the net for a 5-3 lead with 7:20 remaining in the third period.  Torrey Mitchell scored for the Wild with just under a minute left to make it a 5-3 game, but the Stars hung on to win the game and snap the Wild’s win streak at seven.

Their next game is tomorrow when they face the LA Kings for a 5:00pm start at the American Airlines Center.

Mar 25, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars right wing Jaromir Jagr (68) and left wing Jamie Benn (14) and left wing Eric Nystrom (24) and defenseman Brenden Dillon (4) react to allowing a goal against the Minnesota Wild during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Wild defeated the Stars 7-4. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Stars kick of the third game in a five-game home stand tonight with another battle against the Minenesota Wild. The two teams faced off Monday night in a match that ended with the Wild up 7-4 over the Stars with the final horn.

Tonight’s game could easily be much of the same. The Wild will undoubtedly be thoroughly energized and looking to stretch a seven-game win streak to eight, while the Stars are still struggling to find steady success on home ice. Tonight is also the final match between these two teams in the regular season. Another win by Minnesota would be a full sweep for the Wild this season.

Not only will Minnesota’s win streak extension fan the flame of the Wild, the final outcome of Wednesday night’s game, a come-from-behind-win, will be fresh in each players mind.

The Stars are still on the defensive struggle, and Monday’s game was proof. Turnovers at the blue line, a significant lack of presence in front of Kari Lehtonen and an inability to step in when the Big Fin was in trouble must be resolved if this team wants to make it to the playoffs.

Zach Parise will be the biggest target Dallas needs to pay significant attention to. Parise scored the only goal in the first match between the teams in January. He was also responsible for two goals and an assist in Monday night’s game.

Jaromir Jagr will undoubtedly still be on the lookout for what has become the ellusive assist to hit 1,000 for his career. Jagr was also responsible for one of Monday night’s goals.

The Stars are also very obviously still struggling with a lack of leadership since the departure of Brenden Morrow, and hopefully tonight will provide some insight into who may be in line to fill the former-captain’s skates. If no one steps up, it’s safe to say the Stars cut the head off their own snake.

More importantly, Dallas seems plagued by players who don’t seem too keen on playing their assigned positions, especially on defense. Defensemen play like forwards, leaving unassuming forwards who don’t play a physical game at the blue line to fend off breakaways and three-on-two rushes. And at the other end of the ice, Lehtonen either gets left to his own defenses or left stuck out of the net watching his defensemen flailing like fish out of water. It’s time for the rubber to meet the road with the defense on this team. With the trade deadline approaching, there’s no reason for the outlook of the Dallas Stars leadership to be any less than perform or leave.

The puck drops tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the American Airlines Center and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest.