04/23/26 12:30:00
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04/23 00:25 CDT Stars and Wild go to 2nd overtime tied at 3 past midnight in
Game 3 of even series
Stars and Wild go to 2nd overtime tied at 3 past midnight in Game 3 of even
series
By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Sports Writer
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) --- Matt Duchene tied it or Dallas on a power play midway
through the third period, seconds after his backcheck on Matt Boldy averted a
short-handed goal that would've put Minnesota up by two, and the Stars and Wild
headed to double overtime early Thursday in Game 3 of their spirited
first-round series.
The Wild had two power plays in the first overtime, with 1:10 left on the man
advantage to carry into the second overtime.
Seconds after the audible thump from Stars goalie Jake Oettinger's blocker save
on Brock Faber's slap shot, the Wild had another prime opportunity to win it
when Quinn Hughes drew a tripping penalty on Sam Steel.
But even with Stars defenseman Radek Faksa playing most of that penalty kill
without a stick, the Wild failed to generate much pressure. Jamie Benn's
holding penalty on Nick Foligno gave them another try.
Oettinger and Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt each made 26 saves over the first
four periods.
The Wild killed four penalties between Mikko Rantanen's power play tip-in just
1:25 into the game and Duchene's crowd-quieting snap shot that slipped between
defenseman Jared Spurgeon and the near post. That included 40 seconds of a
5-on-3 after Boldy's delay-of-game penalty late in the second period.
As soon as he left the box, Spurgeon saw an opening to start a rush that
Michael McCarron finished with his first goal in the NHL playoffs to give the
Wild a 3-2 lead.
Jason Robertson scored after a slick stretch pass by Duchene to put the Stars
up 2-0 in the first period.
Marcus Johansson scored on a power play to start the rally less than five
minutes later, and Joel Eriksson Ek had the tying goal in the second after a
brilliant setup by Boldy. The U.S. Olympian, who had a career-high 42 goals
during the regular season, weaved through four Stars skaters and drew a crowd
behind the net before zipping the puck back into the slot for Eriksson Ek to
knock in.
Entering these playoffs, the winner of Game 3 after a split of the first two
games in a best-of-seven went on to win the series nearly two-thirds of the
time (245 of 369) in NHL history.
The Wild, who have not advanced in the postseason since 2015, fell on the flip
side of that ratio in each of their last three appearances. They won Game 3 to
go up 2-1 on Vegas last year, on Dallas in 2023 and on St. Louis in 2022,
before being eliminated with three straight losses every time.
___
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and
https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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