The Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild open their Western Conference First Round series Saturday at American Airlines Center, with Game 1 bringing together two 100-point teams that spent most of the season chasing each other in the Central Division. Dallas is trying to push past the Western Conference Final after three straight seasons of stopping there, while Minnesota is trying to win a playoff series for the first time since 2015.
The matchup has the feel of a genuine wild game already. The teams split their four regular-season meetings, with each side winning twice at home: Dallas took the first one 5-2 on Oct. 14, Minnesota answered with a 5-2 win on Dec. 11, the Wild won 2-1 in overtime at Grand Casino Arena on March 21, and the Stars edged a 5-4 decision at American Airlines Center on April 9. That last meeting came at a cost for Dallas, because Miro Heiskanen left with a lower-body injury and missed the club's last three regular-season games.
Heiskanen skated Friday with regular partner Esa Lindell, and a decision on his availability was expected Friday night, though it might not become public until a few hours before puck drop Saturday. Dallas would like to have him back for a series that has been building for months. The Stars and Wild occupied second and third place in the Central Division beginning on Nov. 21 and stayed there the rest of the way, a sign that both teams were tracking each other long before the bracket was set.
That is part of why the tone around the series has been so confident on both sides. Stars forward Wyatt Johnston called it a battle between two really, really good teams and said the standings show what kind of opportunity the playoffs provide. Wild captain Jared Spurgeon said each game against Dallas had a tight playoff-type atmosphere and noted that the challenge is the point: give yourself a chance to win the Stanley Cup. Stars coach Glen Gulutzan has taken a longer view, saying the feeling around the group is less urgency than commitment, because breaking through usually takes repeated trips to the playoffs and repeated lessons before a team finally gets there.
For Dallas, the test is whether this group can turn another strong regular season into a deeper run. For Minnesota, the question is simpler and starker: after eight consecutive first-round exits over the past 10 seasons, can the Wild finally get past the opening round and keep moving?
