National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Dallas 4, Minnesota 1
When: 8:30 PM ET, Friday, February 24, 2012
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Referees: Dennis LaRue, Brian Pochmara
Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Don Henderson
Attendance: 13144


STARS 4, WILD 1: Tom Wandell scored a pair of goals and Kari Lehtonen made 28 saves as Dallas topped Minnesota for its first three-game winning streak since mid-December.

Loui Eriksson and Eric Nystrom also tallied for the Stars, who improved to 4-1-1 in their last six contests.

Wandell opened the scoring less than nine minutes into the game with his fifth goal of the season. After being stopped on a wraparound attempt, Wandell beat Niklas Backstrom with a snap shot for his second tally in three contests.

Wandell capped his first two-goal performance since Oct. 21, 2010 with an empty-netter in the final minute of the third.

Eriksson gave the Stars a 2-0 lead with 2:20 remaining in the session. Michael Ryder dished the puck from along the right-wing boards to Eriksson, who glided to his left before roofing the puck into a vacant net to reach the 20-goal plateau for the fourth straight campaign.

Dallas chased Backstrom just under four minutes into the second as Nystrom converted a pass from behind the net by Radek Dvorak to make it 3-0.

Backstrom made 11 saves before being replaced by Matt Hackett, who turned aside all 10 shots he faced.

Devin Setoguchi scored during a two-man advantage in the third for the Wild, who have lost eight of 10 overall and 17 of their last 18 visits to Dallas.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota has scored a total of six goals over its last six road games. ... The Stars have captured 23 of their last 31 meetings with the Wild. ... Dallas All-Star Jamie Benn missed his fifth straight contest with a cut behind his left knee. ... Hackett has stopped 94 of 96 shots in four appearances this season.

Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Dallas
Devin Setoguchi 1 Points Tom Wandell 2
Devin Setoguchi 1 Goals Tom Wandell 2
Dany Heatley 1 Assists Adam Burish 1
Devin Setoguchi 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Matt Hackett 1.000 Save Percentage Kari Lehtonen .966
Niklas Backstrom 11 Saves Kari Lehtonen 28
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Minnesota 29 1 1-6 2-2 4 36
Dallas 25 4 0-2 5-6 12 27
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Stars have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .533 after a loss.
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against San Jose. The Wild have a W/L % of .593 after a win and .324 after a loss.