Matt Boldy finished with two goals and an assist and Joel Eriksson Ek added a pair of power-play goals as the Minnesota Wild routed the Dallas Stars 6-1 in Game 1 of their Western Conference series. Rookie netminder Jesper Wallstedt made 26 saves in his first career playoff start as the Wild took an early lead in the matchup.
Kirill Kaprizov contributed a goal and two assists while Mats Zuccarello set up three scores, giving Minnesota a balanced offensive night. The win was a strong beginning for the Wild, who have not advanced past a playoff series since 2015, and came in a meeting between two Central Division clubs that both finished behind Presidents’ Trophy winner Colorado.
The Stars, who have reached the Western Conference Final the last three seasons, continue to struggle in Game 1s at home—now 1-7 in those openers over that span. The teams will meet again for Game 2 on Monday in Dallas.
The Wild struck early when Eriksson Ek converted a pass from Boldy about five and a half minutes into the series, and he later buried another power-play tally in the third period. Minnesota stretched the lead with a three-goal burst in the first 6½ minutes of the second period: Kaprizov and Boldy scored, with Ryan Hartman also finding the net after helping set up Kaprizov’s marker. Dallas finally got on the board late in the second when Jason Robertson finished off a pass from Wyatt Johnston on the power play.
Coach Minnesota went with 23-year-old Wallstedt over the more playoff-tested Filip Gustavsson; Wallstedt’s regular-season form had been strong, including a recent 4-1 stretch with a 1.82 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage, plus multiple shutouts earlier in the year. He made several key stops, including a glove save on Robertson in the first period. Jake Oettinger, making his 11th postseason series start, stopped 23 shots for Dallas.
