National Hockey League
Minnesota 5, Dallas 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 29, 2018
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Chris Lee, Dean Morton
Linesmen: Brian Mach, Kiel Murchison
Attendance: 19350
Matt Dumba scored a goal and added three assists as the Minnesota Wild downed the visiting Dallas Stars 5-2 on Thursday night.

Dumba's four-point night marked his NHL career high for single-game production.

The victory was only Minnesota's second in five games. However, the Wild tightened their hold on third place in the Central Division, moving five points ahead of the St. Louis Blues and six points on top of the Colorado Avalanche.

Dallas, the sixth-place team in the Central, lost for the eighth time in 10 games and saw its dimming playoff hopes fade further.

Zach Parise netted two goals for the Wild, with his first proving to be the winner and his second an empty-netter with 17 seconds left in the game. Mikael Granlund scored a goal and added two assists, while Jason Zucker had a goal and an assist for Minnesota.

Jamie Benn and Devin Shore scored for Dallas.

Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk recorded 29 saves on 31 shots. Dallas netminder Kari Lehtonen wasn't as busy, but he managed to stop only 17 of the 21 shots sent his way.

Stars coach Ken Hitchcock juggled his lineup and lines while also going with six defensemen instead of seven. However, the moves had little effect. The Stars led 1-0 early, but the Wild overcame the deficit before the first period ended and never trailed again.

Benn opened the scoring 2:51 into the game as he one-timed Tyler Seguin's pass from the corner. Seguin did the grunt work on the play, stealing the puck from a Minnesota defender before setting up Benn.

Granlund drew the Wild even with a short-handed marker at 16:02 of the first period. He scored on an end-to-end rush, electing to shoot as a two-on-one situation was neutralized by a Dallas defender who skated back in time.

Dumba gave the Wild a 2-1 advantage during a power play at 7:19 of the second period, putting a slap shot behind Lehtonen. Parise then beat Lehtonen only 59 seconds later as he converted a goalmouth pass from Granlund, who weaved around a checker before making the pass.

Shore pulled the Stars back within a goal at 9:42 of the middle period as he deflected in a Dan Hamhuis shot. But Zucker's power-play goal -- with only 11 seconds left in the second frame -- gave the Wild a 4-2 lead heading into the third. Dumba drew the second assist on the goal as Zucker one-timed Eric Staal's pass on a three-on-two.

The Wild played most of the contest without defenseman Gustav Olofsson, who was sidelined early. Meanwhile, Dallas had to do without rearguard Stephen Johns after he left early with a groin injury.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Dallas   Minnesota
Jamie Benn 1 Points Matt Dumba 4
Jamie Benn 1 Goals Zach Parise 2
Dan Hamhuis 1 Assists Matt Dumba 3
N/A Power Play Goals Matt Dumba 1
N/A Short Handed Goals Mikael Granlund 1
Kari Lehtonen .810 Save Percentage Devan Dubnyk .935
Kari Lehtonen 17 Saves Devan Dubnyk 29
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Dallas 31 2 0-4 1-3 8 27
Minnesota 22 5 2-3 4-4 10 33
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Wild have a W/L % of .512 after a win and .618 after a loss.
  • Dallas will play their next game at home against Minnesota. The Stars have a W/L % of .487 after a win and .513 after a loss.