Stars return from Christmas break with 4-2 loss to Wild

The Dallas Stars came out of the Christmas break with a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild.

Dallas scored first but a bit of bad luck — puck banked in off a Stars defender — and poor penalty killing allowed Minnesota to take a 3-2 lead into the third period.

In the third period Dallas came close, but couldn’t beat Alex Stalock and the Wild scored into the empty net to end a four-game point streak for the Stars.

Tyler Seguin and Mattias Janmark scored for Dallas in the loss, while Ben Bishop made 27 saves.

Stalock made 26 saves for the Wild.

Play of the Game

The Stars had a chance to tie the game late, but Janmark was unable to finish a prime scoring chance against Stalock with 1:13 remaining after a superb pass from John Klingberg. Moments later the Wild scored into the empty net and effectively sealed the victory.

The Upset Three Stars of the Game

1. Jared Spurgeon, scored the key goal that tied the game in the first period for Minnesota and played reliable defense in a frustratingly effective Wild system.

2. Alex Stalock, Stalock played his way into this spot in the third period. When the Wild needed timely saves in the final period the goalie delivered, including the clinching save on Jamark.

3. Tyler Seguin, the forward scored in the first period and was effective throughout the game. Now leads the team with 18 goals.

The Goals

First Period

12:37 Tyler Seguin scored on a deflection after a seeing-eye pass from Esa Lindell. Stars 1, Wild 0

Esa with the vision, Seguin with the finish. pic.twitter.com/epYDfLHO9y

— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 28, 2017

19:19 Jared Spurgeon tied the game on a rebound. Stars 1, Wild 1

Jared Spurgeon's 4th of the year gets #mnwild on the board. #DALvsMIN pic.twitter.com/x9Ew36yEFV

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 28, 2017

Second Period

5:12 Eric Staal banked a pass off Greg Pateryn, who was playing a two-on-one well, into the net for a Wild lead. Wild 2, Stars 1

What a bounce ???? Eric Staal's 15th of the season. pic.twitter.com/Q8EuPecflB

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 28, 2017

10:43 Mattias Janmark scored on a rebound after a hard bank off the end boards. The goal came less than 10 seconds into a power play. Stars 2, Wild 2

Mattias Janmark ties it up with a PPG
2-2 about halfway through the 2nd#DALvsMIN #DallasStars #GoStars #StarsGIFs pic.twitter.com/HUXEjIBvUT

— ⭐️RoxStar⭐️ (@RoxStar) December 28, 2017

13:08 Mikael Granlund scored on the first Minnesota power play of the game, beating Ben Bishop on another rebound chance. Wild 3, Stars 2

Third Period

19:16 Jason Zucker scored into an empty net. Wild 4, Stars 2

Stars lineup

Jamie Benn — Tyler Seguin — Devin Shore
Mattias Janmark — Martin Hanzal — Alexander Radulov
Antoine Roussel — Radek Faksa — Tyler Pitlick
Remi Elie — Jason Spezza — Brett Ritchie

Esa Lindell — John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis — Greg Pateryn
Stephen Johns — Julius Honka

Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen

Scratched: Gemel Smith
Injured: Marc Methot (knee)

Wild lineup

Jason Zucker — Mikko Koivu — Mikael Granlund
Tyler Ennis — Eric Staal — Charlie Coyle
Daniel Winnik — Joel Eriksson Ek — Chris Stewart
Marcus Foligno — Matt Cullen — Zack Mitchell

Ryan Suter — Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin — Matt Dumba
Gustav Olofsson — Nate Prosser

Alex Stalock

Scratched: Mike Reilly, Steve Michalek

Injured: Nino Niederreiter (lower body), Zach Parise (back surgery)