Stars at Wild
The Dallas Stars are in command of their Western Conference first-round series and can close out the visiting Minnesota Wild on Friday night when the teams square off in Game 5. The top-seeded Stars earned a split on the road with a hard-fought 3-2 victory in Game 4 to push the Wild to the brink of elimination.
Dallas won the first two games at American Airlines Center and is buoyed by the prospect of a series-clinching victory in front of the home fans. "It's going to be exciting for us as players to play in front of them," Stars captain Jamie Benn said. "I'm sure it's going to be exciting for them, and hopefully we can close it out." Minnesota has shown the ability to play with Dallas since a 4-0 drubbing in the series opener, dropping a pair of one-goal decisions sandwiched around a 5-3 victory in Game 3. “Hey, I like the way we’re playing,” Wild coach John Torchetti said. “We just have to find a way to get back home. That’s the bottom line."
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, Sportsnet 360, TVAS, FSN North/FSN Wisconsin (Minnesota), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE WILD: Minnesota was among the league's worst penalty-killing units during the regular season, but has limited Dallas' No. 4-ranked power play to one goal in 13 chances through three games before the Stars converted on both opportunities in Game 4. “They feed a lot off their power play, and tonight was a good example of it,” Wild forward Jason Pominville said. "When you lose the special-teams battle, you’re usually not going to win the game. That’s what happened.” Pominville has scored three times in the past two games after going 13 contests without a tally.
ABOUT THE STARS: Dallas coach Lindy Ruff opted to go with Antti Niemi after Kari Lehtonen started the first three games and the veteran netminder, who backstopped Chicago to a Stanley Cup title in 2010, came through with 28 saves. "That's a luxury that we've had all year," said Stars forward Jason Spezza, who scored the game-winning goal after assisting on the tying tally in Game 4. "You're starting to see the benefits of having fresh goalies all the time." Defenseman Kris Russell had a pair of assists after sitting out Game 3 due to illness.
OVERTIME
1. Stars F Tyler Seguin will sit out his third straight game after aggravating his Achilles injury.
2. Wild C Charlie Coyle's goal on Wednesday ended a 21-game drought and was his first since March 1.
3. Benn is riding a 12-game point streak against Minnesota.