When the going got tough and their leading scorer Tyler Seguin was out for the series with an achilles injury, the Stars looked to their captain Jaime Benn for a much-needed moral boost. He didn’t disappoint. The opening round playoff series seemed to be promising for the top-seeded Stars after they took a commanding 2-0 series lead. Game 3 looked as if it was going to be a breeze, getting off to a 2-0 lead in only 4 minutes into the game but the Wild scored 4 unanswered and one late in the game to cap off a 5-3 victory. Dallas coasted through game 4 and went into the next game hoping to finish off Minnesota, but that was not the Wild’s plan. Minnesota took a commanding 2-0 lead early in the first period but a late goal by Oduya ended the period at 2-1. The second period was scoreless and the third was filled with excitement. Minnesota scored two more but the Stars answered with 3 of their own to send it into OT where Minnesota’s Koivu scored a game winner to force a game 6. Game 6 looked as if it was going to be a blowout when the Stars went up 3-0 in the first but as the series had been playing out, the game wasn’t over until the horn blew. Period 2 gave the Stars a 4-0 lead, almost guaranteeing their victory, but that was not the case. In the 3rd period five goals were scored. 4 by the wild and 1 by the Stars. As the game came to an end with only a minute on the clock a couple missed open-netters left the Wild with some hope they could pull off a miracle. Luckily for the Stars they held on and advanced to the second round. This is the Dallas Stars first series victory since 2008 and they did it without their number one scorer. They now await the winner of the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks who play game 7 tonight at 7:30.
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