There were some flashbacks of the 2022 NHL Playoff Jake Oettinger on the ice tonight. The Stars needed a goaltending performance tonight, so Matt Murray stepped up. Murray earned his first-career NHL shutout in the 4-0 win over the Minnesota Wild tonight. The Wild went after Murray after the opening puck drop tonight, but he held his ground. Here are the three takeaways from tonight's shutout win over the Wild.
"We needed a good goaltending performance on the road...right kind of effort for us at the right time."
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) January 9, 2024
Pete DeBoer after tonight's win!
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Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild Recap: 3. Penalty kill clinic
The Stars showed the NHL how to take care of business on the penalty kill tonight. They killed off six penalties in the shutout win tonight. It was concerning once the Stars got to the fourth penalty because of Murray's inexperience with multiple NHL penalty kills. Murray held his ground well tonight as the Wild ambushed him on their power play.
The Stars got their offense going with a Roope Hintz short-handed goal. Tyler Seguin picked off Brock Faber on the side of the net and fed it to Hintz for the goal. Later in the third period, they would add another short-handed goal when Radek Faksa added some insurance. Overall, good job to the Stars' special teams units tonight.
BANG! 💥#NHLAllStarVote #MiroHeiskanen #RoopeHintz #JasonRobertson #MattDuchene pic.twitter.com/vtByniLzoU
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) January 9, 2024
Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild Recap: 2. Defense stepped up
When Murray was announced he was starting tonight, the first thing that came to my mind was the Stars' defense. How would the defense perform without Miro Heiskanen and help Murray defend the net? They did both of those things tonight and got Murray the shutout. After watching the Stars struggle to contain the Nashville Predators on Saturday night, it was a great way to turn the ship defensively.
Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild Recap: 1. The man of the hour
We cannot wrap up this postgame article without saluting the guy who won the game tonight. Murray was fantastic tonight between the pipes and kept the Stars in the game. What a way to win his first NHL career shutout win tonight. I know his former Humboldt teammates on the back of his helmet are smiling at him right now from heaven. I hope Pete DeBoer rewards him with another start on Wednesday night against the Wild again.
"Dream come true."
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) January 9, 2024
Matt Murray after a career night 👏
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