Riley Tufte's first NHL goal comes at familiar Xcel Energy Center

Riley Tufte has a knack for making memories at Xcel Energy Center.

After skating on the ice in the state tournament with Blaine and later claiming a national championship with Minnesota Duluth in St. Paul, the 23-year-old added a new highlight on Sunday with the visiting Stars: his first NHL goal.

"This building's been good to me," Tufte said.

The forward scored the second of three second-period goals by Dallas in an eventual 6-3 win over the Wild, capitalizing during his third stint with the team this season after getting called up from the minors.

After Wild goalie Kaapo Kahkonen made an initial save on a shot from John Klingberg, Tufte pounced on the rebound and slid it around Kahkonen's pad before tumbling to the ice and pumping his arms as he slid on his back.

"I started falling down when I scored, so I wasn't sure if it went in right away," said Tufte, who was playing in his ninth NHL game. "But I saw it going back in net, and it was an awesome feeling.

"Coming home and being able to play here and getting the first one here tops it off."

Tufte estimated more than 50 family members and friends were at the game, and another familiar face was on the Wild bench: fellow Blaine alum Nick Bjugstad, whom Tufte grew up with; not only do the two both wear No. 27, but they also were crowned Minnesota's Mr. Hockey before being drafted to the NHL in the first round.

"I think he's been there for my whole life," said Tufte, who was selected by the Stars 25th overall in 2016. "He's stuck with me, and I train with him every summer. It's cool that he got to see me first NHL goal. It's even better for me that it was against him."

Tufte said he received a lot of messages after his goal, including one from former NHLer Toby Petersen, who's from Bloomington.

Like Tufte, Petersen has diabetes.

"That's pretty special," Tufte said. "He's one of the first guys to reach out to me when I first got diabetes so it just tops it off. He's played for the Dallas Stars, so I think that's awesome."

Wild winger Marcus Foligno was whistled for goaltender interference Friday at Buffalo, "for taking a bad route," coach Dean Evason said, and that's also what Evason thought Tyler Seguin did on Dallas' first goal when Kahkonen was bumped out of position.

"That was our interpretation: [Seguin's] skate made the initial contact, and his route was to go right through the blue paint," Evason said.

The Wild challenged for goaltender interference, but the team didn't reverse the goal since the NHL ruled it was Wild center Frederick Gaudreau who prevented Kahkonen from standing his ground. Gaudreau collided with Kahkonen after getting tied up with Seguin in the crease.

"We gotta make [a decision] quick, and we chose that," Evason said. "It didn't work out."

The Wild had an 11-point cushion over the Stars at the All-Star break. That buffer is gone.

Dallas is now even with the Wild in the Central Division at 67 points, with the Wild currently holding the tiebreaker for third because it's played one fewer game. One point back of them are the Predators, and the Blues are only four points ahead — a tight race to fill out the division behind the first-place Avalanche.

"The teams behind us or around us are playing really well," center Nico Sturm said. "It's almost like I don't want to say panic or scared to lose, but everybody realizes what's going on and we're grasping at something trying to stop it and it's not working out right now. I don't really have the answers right now. I just know that it's not for a lack of effort."

Matt Dumba was back in action after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury.

"It's always tough, but it's part of it as well," the defenseman said about being sidelined. "I feel good now, and I want to help the team in whatever way I can."

Mats Zuccarello also suited up; the winger missed the previous game with an upper-body injury.

Jordan Greenway, however, remains out, and the winger is now on injured reserve. He has sat out the past six games because of an upper-body injury.

The Wild was also evaluating Gaudreau after the game.

"We don't know if he blocked a shot," Evason said. "But it looked like he was in a lot of pain. It was lower-body."