Stars top the Wild 7-1 in Dallas. Minnesota returns home to host the Sharks on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/PG3fBZ1YNj
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 4, 2015
The Wild suffered one of their worst road defeats ever Saturday night, a 7-1 loss at the hands of the Stars in Dallas.
Minnesota played flat with little energy, much like the Timberwolves in their 101-89 loss to the Jazz Saturday night.
The Star Tribune called the loss humiliating, compared the Wild to a peewee hockey team and said they were outclassed by the Stars in every way.
It was Minnesota’s worst loss of the season and brought their record to 18-15-4.
Parise: "it's not fun, it's embarrassing. … It's been a common theme – no energy.
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) January 4, 2015
“The first period, you could see we that had no pace to our game,” Wild coach Mike Yeo said, according to NHL.com. “We weren’t able to execute against a team that was pressuring us hard. They played well and we played poorly.”
The Stars led 1-0 after the first period, but scored five quick goals in the second period to break the game wide open.
Minnesota goalie Darcy Kuemper was pulled with 8:56 left in the second period and relieved by Niklas Backstrom, NHL.com reports.
Minnesota’s only goal came late in the second period when forward Thomas Vanek scored on the power play.
The Wild will take Sunday off, then prepare for a three-game home stand which begins Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks.
Wild defenseman Ryan Suter said the team isn’t about to panic.
“The biggest thing is we have to stick together,” Suter said. “We just have to play.”
