Minnesota Wild defeat Dallas Stars 4-2 in Game 5 to move one win from advancing

10 articles · Updated · ESPN · Apr 29

The Wild secured a 3-2 series lead with Tuesday's win in Dallas, highlighted by goals from Zuccarello, Boldy, McCarron, and Kaprizov, and 20 saves from rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt.
Minnesota's aggressive defense and penalty kill frustrated the Stars, who have not scored a 5-on-5 goal in nearly 198 minutes, while the Wild now rank third in postseason goals per game.
The series returns to St. Paul on Thursday, where the Wild can clinch their first second-round appearance since 2015, raising hopes they can challenge the Western Conference power structure.

Can the Stars' elite offense solve its 200-minute scoring drought at five-on-five to avoid elimination?

After a dominant Game 5 on the road, are the Wild finally poised to break their 11-year first-round curse?

Without top defenseman Jonas Brodin, can the Wild's defensive system hold strong enough to clinch the series?

Does this series prove that defensive structure is more valuable than offensive star power in the NHL playoffs?

Is Jason Robertson's unresolved contract situation an underlying distraction for a Stars team on the brink?