DALLAS STARS NOTES:
INJURIES
Man-games lost, 2023-24: 6
NAME INJURY # OF GAMES DATES
C Roope Hintz Upper body 1 Oct. 12
C Radek Faksa Upper body 4 Nov. 1-6
C Matt Duchene Upper body 1 Nov. 6
TODAY’S GAME: The Stars put the finishing touches on their three-game road trip tonight against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. (5 p.m. CT, Bally Sports Southwest Extra, The Ticket 96.7-FM/1310-AM). This is the first of three meetings between the two clubs, who squared off in the 2023 Western Conference First Round last spring. One of two visits to the Twin Cities, the Stars and Wild will meet again at Xcel Energy Center on Jan. 8 before closing it out two days later at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
BACK-TO-BACKS – Tonight’s game in Minnesota concludes the Stars’ second set of back-to-backs this season. In all, they have 11 back-to-backs, including a season-high three in the month of February. – Their next set of back-to-backs will take place Dec. 6 at Florida and Dec. 7 at Washington.
SAINT PAUL SHOWDOWN
– The Stars went 2-0-2 against the Wild last season, winning by identical 4-1 scores Feb. 8 at home and Dec. 29, 2022 on the road. – Dallas is 49-28-10 all-time vs. Minnesota, including an 18-20-4 mark on the road. – The Stars enter today’s contest with points in three consecutive games at Xcel Energy Center (2-0-1) and six of their past eight overall (4-2-2). – Forward Roope Hintz recorded his second career hat trick (3-1—4) and tied his career high for points in a game in the series opener vs. Minnesota last season (Dec. 4, 2022). Hintz enters tonight’s game with 15 points (7-8—15) in 16 career games against them. – Forward Joe Pavelski leads active Stars in goals (21) and ranks third in points (21-23—44) and fourth in assists (23) in a team-high 53 career games against the Wild. He also shares the team lead in power-play goals (6) and shares second in game winners (3) against them. – Captain Jamie Benn ranks second among active Stars in goals (20), shares second in assists (25) and co-leads in points (20-25—45) in 52 career games vs. Minnesota. Benn also ranks first in game-winning goals (4) and co-leads in power-play tallies (6) against the Wild. – Forward Tyler Seguin leads active Stars in assists (27), shares first in points (18-27—45) and ranks third in goals (18) in 41 career games vs. Minnesota. – Forward Matt Duchene shares second in assists (25) and ranks fourth in points (10-25—35) in 52 career games vs. the Wild. – Forward Craig Smith ranks fourth among active Stars in goals (11) and has 20 points (11-9—20) in 42 career games vs. the Wild. – Forward Mason Marchment has six points (4-2—6) in five career games against Minnesota. – Forward Jason Robertson has six goals and 12 points (6-6—12) in eight games vs. Minnesota. – Forward Sam Steel spent the 2022-23 season with the Wild, recording 10 goals and 28 points (10-18—28) in 65 regular-season games. He also scored his first career playoff goal and recorded the lone assist on Minnesota’s game-winning goal in a double overtime victory in Game 1 of the 2023 Western Conference First Round vs. Dallas. – Defenseman Miro Heiskanen has 10 assists and 11 points (1-10—11) in 15 career games against Minnesota. – Defenseman Ryan Suter enters tonight’s matchup with 12 points (3-9—12) in 34 games against his former club. – Goaltender Jake Oettinger is 4-0-1 with a 2.40 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in seven career appearances against his hometown team. – Netminder Scott Wedgewood is 0-1-2 with a 3.29 GAA and .897 SV% in four career appearances vs. Minnesota.
MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:
SERIES NOTES
DALLAS STARS All-Time Wild Record: 35-35-13 (23-12-5 at Xcel Energy Center, 12-23-8 at Dallas)
2023-23: Minnesota went 2-2-0 in the season series with the Stars… Minnesota won the series opening game at American Airlines Center, 6-5, in a shootout (12/4)…Dallas earned a 4-1 victory at Xcel Energy Center in the second game (12/29), a 4-1 victory in Dallas in the third game (2/8) and Minnesota won 2-1 in a shootout in the series finale in St. Paul (2/17)… LW Kirill Kaprizov (2-1=3) and RW Mats Zuccarello (1-2=3) led Minnesota with three points…C Joel Eriksson Ek (2-0=2), D Jared Spurgeon (0-2=2) and RW Ryan Reaves (0-2=2) had two points each. G Marc-Andre Fleury went 1-1-0 with a 3.87 GAA and a .896 SV% in the first two meetings…G Filip Gustavsson went 1-1-0 with a 1.97 GAA and a .939 SV% in the final two contests…C Roope Hintz led Dallas with seven points (4-3=7)…LW Jason Robertson had five points (1-4=5)…C Wyatt Johnston had four points (1-3=4)…LW Mason Marchment (1-2=3), C Joe Pavelski (0-3=3), C Tyler Seguin (2-1=3) all recorded three points…G Jake Oettinger went 2-0-1 with a 1.87 GAA and a .937 SV% in four starts for Dallas…G Scott Wedgewood played in relief in the first game (12/4) and stopped 14 of 15 shots faced, earning the loss.
WILD LEADERS: Zuccarello leads Minnesota with 20 points (4-16=20) in 23 games against Dallas…Spurgeon owns 19 points (6-13=19) in 42 contests…C Ryan Hartman has 14 points (7-7=14) in 27 matches… Kaprizov has 12 points (6-6=12) in eight contests.
WILD GOALIES: Fleury is 13-6-1 with a 2.18 GAA, a .927 SV% and one shutout in 20 games played (20 starts) vs. the Stars…Gustavsson is 3-1-0 with a 1.73 GAA and a .950 SV% in four starts.
STARS LEADERS: Seguin (18-27=45 in 41 games) and LW Jamie Benn (20-25=45 in 52 games) lead Dallas with 45 points each…Pavelski owns 44 points (21-23=44) in 53 games…C Matt Duchene has 35 points (10- 25=35) in 52 career games.
STARS GOALIES: Oettinger is 4-0-1 with a 2.40 GAA and a .917 SV% in seven career games (six starts)…Wedgewood is 0-1-2 with a 3.25 GAA and a .887 SV% in four games (two starts).
FAST FACTS: Minnesota is 21-14-5 in the last 10 seasons (2013-23) against Dallas…The Wild is 6-3-1 in the last 10 games against the Stars at Xcel Energy Center…Minnesota has points in 11 of the last 20 games (9-9-2) played at American Airlines Center…Minnesota was defeated by Dallas in six games in the 2016 and 2023 First Round.
INJURIES
Freddy Gaudreau: upper body
Alex Goligoski: lower body
2023-24 Total Man Games Lost: 40
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
November 2 – November 11, 2023
11/10/23 Activated D Jared Spurgeon from Long-Term Injured Reserve and assigned D Daemon Hunt to Iowa
HOME SWEET HOME
• Dating back to Nov. 19th, 2022, Minnesota is 26-9-4 at home for a .718 point percentage, tied for the third-most wins and home point percentage in the NHL during that span. • In home games since Nov. 19, 2022, the Wild has allowed 2.49 goals per game (fourth in NHL) and recorded a .916 save percentage (fourth in NHL). • Minnesota ranked tied for sixth in the NHL with a .659 home point percentage and tied for seventh with 25 home victories during the 2022-23 season.
