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Boldy's OT tip-in evens series for Wild over Stars
Boldy tipped a Spurgeon point shot with 29 seconds left in OT to give the Wild a 3-2 win over Dallas, knotting the first-round series 2-2.
Boldy's OT tip-in evens series for Wild over Stars
Matt Boldy redirected Jared Spurgeon's point shot past Jake Oettinger with 29 seconds remaining in the first overtime to give the Minnesota Wild a 3-2 victory against the Dallas Stars in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round at Grand Casino Arena on Saturday. The best-of-seven series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 set for Dallas.
Wild 3, Stars 2 (OT) | Periods: 1-1, 0-1, 1-0, 1-0 | Goalies: Wallstedt (MIN) 43 saves, Oettinger (DAL) 40 saves | Series: tied 2-2
Stars strike first on the power play
Dallas opened the scoring 5:35 into the first when Jason Robertson buried a Matt Duchene feed from the bottom-left circle. Minnesota answered at 13:21: Brock Faber drove through the slot off a Kaprizov-Hartman setup to tie it 1-1. The first period closed even, but Dallas still owned territorial play.
Heiskanen's late second-period dagger
The middle period was a goalie duel until 19:25, when Miro Heiskanen ripped his second power-play goal of the series — Rantanen and Duchene credited again — to make it 2-1 with seconds to spare. Dallas appeared poised to push the series toward 3-1.
Foligno bullies one home
The third belonged to Minnesota. At 14:40, Foligno controlled his own rebound while toppling over Oettinger at the left post and backhanded the puck across the line. The crowd at Grand Casino Arena erupted, and Wallstedt did the rest, sending the game to overtime.
Boldy's OT winner
Wallstedt stopped nine shots in the extra frame as Dallas pressed. The reprieve came at 19:31: Spurgeon stepped into a point shot, Boldy got a piece of it at the left post, and the puck found the net. "I was just lucky enough to have it hit my stick and go in," Boldy said afterward.
Why it matters
Foligno reflected the Wild's mood: "There's no pouting in here. We took a lot of positives out of (Game 3)." Mikko Rantanen looked ahead: "It's best-of-three now. This group has been in this situation before." Wallstedt, meanwhile, has put himself into a Conn Smythe conversation if Minnesota keeps advancing. The series moves to Texas tied — exactly what the Wild needed.