DALLAS — After losing home-ice advantage to the Stars, the Wild will need a win on the road to keep their season going.
Wild coach Dean Evason on playing Stars: 'Our game translates home or away'
After losing home-ice advantage, the Wild will need a win in Dallas to keep their season going. Where they play doesn't appear to concern coach Dean Evason.
April 25, 2023 at 11:37PM
They'll have a chance to pick up that victory in Game 5 on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center, a pivotal point in the best-of-seven with the series tied at 2. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
"Our game translates home or away," coach Dean Evason said. "Obviously, everybody's looking for consistency. But when we play the right way, it's a good road game and it's a good home game. We don't change too much. So, we're looking forward to putting that consistent game out there tonight."
The last time the Wild were in Dallas they were overwhelmed 7-3 by the Stars in Game 2, this after they gutted out a double overtime win in Game 1.
"Game 2 was wide open," Evason said. "We don't want that game here tonight or you're not going to have success. If we keep it tight, we'll give ourselves a chance."
Filip Gustavsson was the first goaltender off the ice at morning skate, which suggests he'll make a third consecutive start vs. Dallas.
Gustavsson is 2-1 in the series with a 1.72 goals-against average and .941 save percentage.
As for John Klingberg, he'll play his first playoff game in Dallas since leaving the Stars last summer after eight seasons.
Klingberg missed the first two games of the first round because of a lower-body injury.
"It's going to be a lot of fun," the defenseman said. "Obviously, a lot of history. But I'm not going to try and think too much about that."
Projected lineup:
Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson-Sam Steel-Matt Boldy
Gus Nyquist-Frederick Gaudreau-Marcus Foligno
Brandon Duhaime-Connor Dewar-Ryan Reaves
Jake Middleton-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba
John Klingberg-Brock Faber
Filip Gustavsson
Key numbers:
4: Points in two games for Klingberg.
5: Points for Mats Zuccarello during a four-game point streak.
5: Points for Ryan Hartman in the series.
13: Goals for each team in Round 1.
18: Blocked shots by Jake Middleton.
About the Stars:
Roope Hintz had three assists in Game 4, this after Hintz had a hat trick in Game 2. Tyler Seguin has three goals on the power play. Dallas went 2-for-3 with the man advantage during its 3-2 win in Game 4. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen logged a game-high 26 minutes, 22 seconds that night. Goalie Jake Oettinger's .941 career playoff save percentage is the highest on record by a netminder aged 24 or younger.
The star forward came back from a brief injury absence, and two goals from Frederick Gaudreau helped Minnesota to another road victory.
