Both teams had chances; Stars cashed in on theirs

The effort was fine for the most part. Competitive fight? Sure, the Wild displayed that, too.

The Wild had its season pushed to the brink of finality Wednesday night not because of a lack of intensity, or passion, or energy — problem areas that infuriated its fan base this season.

The Wild lost because of too many mistakes — costly penalties, weak penalty kill — against a superior team with a finishing gear the Wild lacks.

The Dallas Stars capitalized on their chances, the Wild didn't.

It's that simple.

Pushed back on their heels two nights earlier, the Stars showed a little something about their resolve in putting a stranglehold on the series with a 3-2 victory in Game 4 at Xcel Energy Center.

"I liked our game," Wild interim coach John Torchetti said. "Liked our work ethic."

That wasn't enough for a team with such a small margin for error.

Needless to say, the Wild is in trouble now. Down 3-1 in the series, the Wild faces a daunting task of having to win three consecutive games, including two in Dallas, against the Western Conference's top seed.

Good luck with that.

Barring a remarkable comeback, the Wild will fail to meet its stated goal of advancing past the second round of the playoffs. That outcome would force owner Craig Leipold to make tough decisions about his organization's direction and future, starting with the fate of General Manager Chuck Fletcher.

The Wild had a chance to make this series feel like a down-to-the-wire series, maybe place some doubt inside the Stars locker room.

The Wild held two leads — 1-0 and 2-1 — but couldn't hold them.

The Wild had a 6-on-4 advantage for the final 1 minute, 24 seconds of regulation thanks to a high-sticking penalty and an extra attacker with goalie Devan Dubnyk off the ice.

That turned into nothing but frantic futility, a sting that will linger if this series ends in defeat.

The game was decided on special teams. The Wild took two penalties in the second period, and the Stars cashed in.

A delay of game on Matt Dumba and slashing on Nino Niederreiter turned into a pair of power-play goals, each one erasing a one-goal lead by the Wild.

On Dallas' first goal by Ales Hemsky, high-priced Wild defenseman Ryan Suter gave a halfhearted effort to block the shot with his stick.

"We got to block that shot," Torchetti said. "I want to make sure we understand."

The Stars took a 3-2 lead with 1:09 left in the second period on a puck that deflected off Jason Spezza's skate. His puck-luck goal came 14 seconds after a failed Wild power play.

That's what happens when a team leaves the door open. Good teams pounce.

The Wild's Jekyll-and-Hyde nature made it impossible to predict with any certainty how the team would respond to its inspired Game 3. Any scenario was plausible — good, bad or in between.

The team's start looked like a continuation of Game 3.

The Wild established a physical tone by finishing checks and pressuring on offense. The building was electric.

The Wild braced for a forceful pushback from the Stars, knowing a victory would set up a potential decisive Game 5 at home Friday night.

The Wild answered the challenge, holding a 13-10 advantage in hits in the first period with seven blocked shots and three takeaways.

The Wild tried to make too many perfect plays early on, as opposed to throwing pucks on net and testing goalie Antti Niemi, making his first start of the series in place of Kari Lehtonen.

The Wild rediscovered the blueprint that works best, driving hard to the crease. Jason Pominville scored off a rebound for the Wild's first goal.

Charlie Coyle broke a 1-1 tie with a superb individual effort to pull himself out of a scoring funk. On a 2-on-1 with Jason Zucker, Coyle corralled and then controlled a bouncing puck as he closed on Niemi.

Coyle slammed on his brakes and slipped a backhander into the net, a long overdue goal that ended his 21-game drought.

It wasn't enough though. The Wild shot itself in the foot because of penalties and a leaky penalty kill.

That won't cut it against elite teams that smell blood.

Chip Scoggins chip.scoggins@startribune.com