Stars Top Wild 4-3 In Overtime
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — John Klingberg scored in overtime and Kari Lehtonen made 37 saves to win for the first time in more than a month and give the Dallas Stars a 4-3 victory Tuesday over Minnesota, the 10th loss in the last 11 games for the fading Wild.
Jamie Benn, who had two assists, set up Klingberg's high shot from the slot that eluded Darcy Kuemper with 2:21 remaining in the extra period. Patrick Eaves added a goal and an assist and Tyler Seguin notched two assists for the Stars, who recovered well from a 5-1 loss Saturday at Chicago.
Kuemper stopped 26 shots for the Wild, who fell to a woeful 1-10 in the 3-on-3 overtime format this season. They're 1-10-1 since a 2-1 win Jan. 9 at Dallas.
Mikko Koivu's power-play goal evened the game just 76 seconds into the third period, finishing a chaotic sequence in front of the net after Zach Parise and Matt Dumba each hit the post with their shots. Dumba was taken down by Stars defenseman Johnny Oduya, and as he lay face-first in the crease with his stick in the net, Koivu punched in the puck without it hitting Dumba's hand. Replay review upheld the goal, and Stars coach Lindy Ruff didn't challenge the ruling.
The Wild outshot the Stars 16-4 in the third period.
Erik Haula and Justin Fontaine scored on breakaways for the Wild in the first period for the strong start they needed, but Minnesota native Alex Goligoski gave the Stars a momentum-limiting goal between them off a slick behind-the-net pass from Seguin.
Jason Demers tied the game at 2 early in the second period with a going-wide shot that glanced off Wild defenseman Nate Prosser and slipped past Kuemper, fittingly for how rough the new year has been for the home team. Then, Eaves put the Stars in front with his power-play shot set up by another fine feed from Seguin.
The Wild stumbled home from a three-game road trip during which they lost each game while being outscored 13-6 despite a 100-92 shots advantage. Thomas Vanek, who had two assists, was back on the third line after being a healthy scratch Saturday at St. Louis. Jason Zucker returned to the fourth line from the same punishment, but the Wild were without two of their top defensemen, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon.
That's a difficult way to play the NHL's second-highest-scoring team, with an average of 3.2 goals per game and two of the top four scorers in the league with Benn and Seguin. Jason Spezza missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury, but the Stars had more than enough juice to overcome his absence.
Lehtonen started for the first time in the last seven games.
NOTES: Brodin, on injured reserve with a broken foot expected to keep him out until sometime in March, missed his second straight game. Spurgeon sat out with a far-less-serious injury the team called a bone bruise. ... Kuemper started for the first time in five games. ... The Stars won four of five games against the Wild this season, three in overtime.
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