Dallas Stars Look Set To Sweep Minnesota Wild
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars dominated the Minnesota Wild in game one last night. Are they in store for a manageable sweep?
My voice is still recovering and my eyes are still stinging with each blink due to lack of sleep. That’s okay though, considering what they went through last night.
The Dallas Stars welcomed the Minnesota Wild to the American Airlines Center in Dallas last night to start their Western Conference Quarterfinals series. The Stars finished the year at the top of the Central Division and Western Conference, while the Wild skid into the final wild card position in the last week of the season.
To say it was a one-sided game would be an understatement. Not only did the Dallas Stars secure the victory, but they did it in a 4-0 rout that proved their dominance and legitimacy in the playoff race.
The Wild have started a tradition for themselves of sneaking into the playoffs in a wild card spot and eventually executing the Central Division champions in the first round when they least expect it. Luckily, it looks like the Stars are expecting everything that Minnesota has to throw at them.
Last night, the Stars saw four different forwards score in Radek Faksa (first career playoff goal), Jason Spezza, Patrick Eaves, and Jamie Benn. These four players along with the rest of the team helped apply the pressure and extinguish the Wild. Kari Lehtonen earned the second playoff shutout, stopping all 22 shots he faced.
The Dallas Stars controlled special teams, going 1/6 on the power play and 2/2 on the penalty kill.
Though the game was not the most entertaining and intense as perhaps say Game 4 from the 2014 playoffs against the Anaheim Ducks, it helped yield a potential result: the infamous sweep.
The Stars proved last night that they are prepared for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, while the Wild displayed many deficiencies.
It’s not time to get cocky or even state outright that these two teams are headed to four quick games and the Dallas Stars will receive an extended break while awaiting their second round opponent. But it is important to take a look at all that happened last night.
The Wild were missing what could be argued as their two best forwards in Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek. While Vanek will be missing game two as well, Parise could be out for the rest of the postseason and require surgery.
In their absence, the Wild struggled to keep possession or even slight pressure on Dallas. They took a measly two shots on net in the entire first period, and that was with a power play chance. Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk kept it as close as he could for as long as he could, but a goaltender can only get a team so far.
In the end, the Dallas Stars made an image for themselves throughout the entire NHL. Even though they are up against a depleted team, they are still executing effectively and finding ways to win on offense, defense, and in goal. Is a sweep in the cards? Nothing is positive yet, but the Stars proved that they have a good chance at it after last night’s effort.
Now we just have to hope they can keep it up and continue the run. Only 15 more wins separate them from the clutches of the Stanley Cup.
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So rest your eyes and voice for now, but get ready to execute both come Saturday night. Game two is on the way.