The Minnesota Wild were booed off the ice at the end of the second period, before exiting the NHL Playoffs in the first round for the second straight year with a miserable 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars at the Xcel Energy Center.
A goal from Mason Marchment with 0.5 seconds left on the clock in the second period to make it 3-0 proved to be the dagger for the Wild.
Dean Evason replaced Gustavsson with veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fluery for the final period of the Wild season, which ends with a 4-2 series loss.
Freddy Gaudreau got the Wild on the board 12:53 but Minnesota’s comeback attempt came up short as Max Domi scored an empty net goal with just over a minute left to put away the game.
Achievement unlocked: Buzzer Beater! 🏆
The @DallasStars head into the 3rd period up 3-0! #StanleyCup
🇺🇸: @NHL_On_TNT ➡️ https://t.co/LaJpv7c3yx #NHLonTNT
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet ➡️ https://t.co/uEVY6yXLpz pic.twitter.com/VJwfkYqhBw— NHL (@NHL) April 29, 2023
After getting hounded over the first six and a half minutes of the game, Dallas scored on their first shot and never looked back, outshooting the Wild 32-19 the rest of the way.
Kirill Kaprizov ended the first round series with just a single goal and no assists. Matt Boldy, who scored 31 goals during the regular season, failed to find the back of the net against Dallas.
The season is over, and there will be no shortage of questions asked about the Wild’s meek surrender having taken a 2-1 lead in the series just a week earlier.
For 2nd year in a row, #mnwild blow 2-1 series' lead with 3 straight losses. Guess lesson learned was how to disappoint again.
Have embarrassingly lost 14 of their last 19 playoff home games. 4th postseason they haven't advanced under Evason. Best players no-showed all series.
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) April 29, 2023
