In the second period of Game 5, Roope Hintz muscled his way past two guys with jerseys hanging in the AAC rafters (Mike Modano and Sergei Zubov) and another whose 14 is headed that way (Jamie Benn). Not coincidentally, this was about the time some of us realized this series was a mismatch from the outset, and now it feels miraculous that Tuesday’s 4-0 victory did not eliminate Minnesota but simply shoved the Wild into a 3-2 hole in the best-of-seven series.
Hintz had three assists Tuesday to give him 11 points — four goals, seven assists — in the first five games of this first-round matchup. The previously mentioned stars of Stars history shared the record of 10 points in a series. Keep in mind Hintz has at least one more game Friday night in St. Paul to try and add to his points collection. If he does, it won’t be a surprise if that means the series is over.
And if he scores, it certainly won’t be a surprise if it comes on the power play.
The Stars had one of the best man-advantage units in the NHL, one that powered them to score more goals overall than the defending champion Colorado Avalanche this season. Minnesota was third in penalty minutes a year ago and, while falling to seventh this season, had more actual minutes than last season. Wild players spent 288 more minutes in the box than the Stars did this season.
Wild is an understatement.
”They’re one of the most penalized teams in the league. They chase physical play, and we’ve been making them pay,’’ Coach Pete DeBoer said. “We’ve got to keep doing that.’’
It was apparent in Game 1 that Minnesota was going to be in trouble if it couldn’t change its tendency to be summoned to the penalty box. Even in a 3-2 double overtime defeat, the Stars scored twice on power plays — once in three seconds and the other in seven seconds.
Dallas had raised its power play goals total to seven by the time the Stars escaped Minnesota with a Game 4 win and a 2-2 standing in the series. On Tuesday night, Marcus Foligno, who complained loudly about unfair penalty calls having sent him to the box too many times the previous game, took out Radek Faksa’s knee just 2:14 into the game, ending the night for Foligno by virtue of a 5-minute penalty and game misconduct. Faksa returned later that period.
It took only eight seconds for Dallas to score with the man advantage, Tyler Seguin getting his fourth goal of the post-season and Hintz adding to his assist total. Later in the period, it was time for Jason Robertson to score just 17 seconds after defenseman Jake Middleton had been dispatched to the box for cross-checking Seguin. Chalk up another assist for Hintz.
The Stars took a commanding 3-0 lead in the second period — at even strength surprisingly enough — with Hintz getting the play started and Mason Marchment finishing with a rebound off a Seguin shot.
In five games, that’s four goals and seven assists for Hintz who lost his regular linemate, Joe Pavelski, in the second period of Game 1. Seguin’s ability to fill Pavelski’s skates and the Wild’s steadfast refusal to stay out of the box have elevated Hintz to record status while giving Dallas what feels like a real upper hand in the series.
When DeBoer was asked about the Stars’ power play before Game 5, he said, “It’s the series,’’ as in, there has been nothing more important in sending games and momentum in Dallas’ direction.
The fact that Minnesota still has life left against Dallas is basically attributed to a record-setting performance by goaltender Filip Gustavsson in Game 1 and former Stars Mats Zuccarello and John Klingberg throwing a little revenge in Dallas’ direction in Game 3. But the Wild have surrendered at least two power-play goals in four out of five games, and as long as Jake Oettinger is heating up — two goals allowed on 60 shots in the last two games — I don’t see how Minnesota can overcome such a glaring deficiency.
It’s a particular concern that Wild Coach Dean Evason doesn’t even see what his team is doing wrong. He complained — again — that Foligno should not have been penalized at all for the hit on Faksa, much less given a game misconduct. Evason even hinted at another goaltending change. When asked what his penalty kill could do to get better results, he said “Well, we’ve talked about their goaltender a lot. He was good again.’’
Who knows what Minnesota has in store for Friday night?
The 3-2 lead may be Dallas’ first advantage in the series, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a heck of an upper hand.
Twitter: @TimCowlishaw
Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
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