ST. PAUL, Minn. — The shots were hardly lopsided.
Yet, when all was said and done, the ice looked pretty lopsided — in puck possession and control of the game and a whole lot of things that mattered most.
The final was 5-1 Wild in Game 3 of the best-of-7 opening-round NHL playoff series.
Trailing two games to one in the series, the Stars must win three of the next four games to avoid an early exit just like last season against Calgary. Game 4 resumes Sunday in St. Paul.
“I think the compete was there,” Stars forward Mason Marchment said. “I just don’t think it matters how the game it went. We lost so we have to forget about that one and keep pushing.”
The physicality was not a huge factor, Marchment said.
Goaltender Jake Oettinger had 20 saves. Wild counterpart Filip Gustavsson, who is unbeaten in two starts, added 23 saves.
“There’s definitely running around,” Marchment said. “We’ve got a lot of big bodies in here too. I don’t think it’s bothering us at all. I think one thing, we have to get in front of this goalie and make it hard on him. It was a little too easy for him tonight and that’s definitely something we’ll fix for next game.”
Said Stars coach Pete DeBoer: “We didn’t make it tough enough on their goalie. We didn’t create or generate enough. Pretty simple game.”
Luke Glendening had his first goal of the playoffs for the Stars.
In front of a charged atmosphere before 19,309 at the Xcel Energy Center, old Star Mats Zuccarello scored twice, one in a maze of bodies and the other on a breakaway. The goals were assisted by Ryan Hartman and John Klingberg, both former Stars. Klingberg was making his first appearance in the series.
The opening horn prompted a raucous cheer, one that never went away. The Wild crowd even jeered Ryan Suter, even more than boo magnet Mason Marchment.
Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek, in a much-anticipated debut from a lower-body injury, drew a loud ovation as he started the game. He played just 19 seconds before exiting.
The Wild’s Marcus Johansson scored on a slick move to beat Oettinger just 11 seconds later and restored the one-goal Minnesota lead.
The two teams exchanged goals early in the second period. The Stars’ Luke Glendening scored at 2:25 of the period assisted by Joel Kiviranta.
The lead grew to two goals on a controversial official review later in the period.
Marcus Foligno appeared to high-stick the shot of Gustav Nyquist past Oettinger. The goal was originally overruled on the ice and then ruled a good goal by the replay center in Toronto. The original angle of the replay showed the stick above the crossbar, although it was later ruled even with the crossbar.
If there was a momentum shift, that was it.
“I don’t know. I don’t have a problem with a replay on the goal. I had a problem with the original penalty,” DeBoer said. “My problem is with that. I didn’t think we should be shorthanded on the high stick.”
Twitter: @ChuckCarltonDMN
