Jason Robertson skated toward the Wild net for the Stars' first look in the shootout and deposited the puck behind goaltender Filip Gustavsson.
"I thought I was going to screw everything up," Gustavsson said.
He was wrong.
Airtight the rest of the way, Gustavsson denied the next three attempts from the Stars to backstop the Wild to a 2-1 shootout win on Friday in front of 19,239 at Xcel Energy Center for an outcome that finally matched the Wild's effort.
"It's nice to get rewarded positively in a game like that against a team like that," coach Dean Evason said.
Frederick Gaudreau (5-for-9 this season) and Matt Boldy (2-for-3) converted for the Wild in the shootout, with Boldy picking up his second game-deciding goal after he set up the Wild's only regulation goal.
Add in 29 stops by Gustavsson through three periods and overtime, and the Wild outlasted Dallas to avoid another three-game slide and gain a narrow two-point cushion over Calgary for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Earlier in the week, the Wild fell to Florida in a shootout before outplaying Colorado in a nailbiter of a loss. They are 4-7-1 over their past 12 games.
"The way that we worked was again positive," Evason said. "We've had [that] for a while now. We just haven't got the two points on a consistent basis. We need to keep doing it."
Gustavsson has given up two goals or fewer in 16 of his 22 starts and has blocked 80 of the last 93 shots that have reached him, a stretch in which he's gone 2-0-1. He ranks second in the NHL in goals-against average (2.12) and save percentage (.928) among netminders who have logged at least 17 appearances.
"He's like a wall back there right now," Boldy said.
Lakeville's Jake Oettinger, who made 31 saves while suffering his first career loss vs. the Wild, and Gustavsson were locked into a goaltending battle through two periods.
Not until 6 minutes, 37 seconds into the third period did a puck finally end up in the net, a redirect by Mats Zuccarello on the power play off a Boldy feed for Zuccarello's 20th goal of the season. He also set a new career high in power play tallies with eight while requiring the seventh-fewest games in franchise history to record 70 goals with the Wild.
The Wild went 1-for-2 on the power play.
"It was kind of a broken-down play, so I had a little bit of time," Boldy said. "But Zuccy made an unbelievable read just jumping down the seam. Just have to put it on the stick and tap it in."
As for the Stars' power play, they were 0-for-4, the Wild killing off 18 consecutive shorthanded situations overall in a season-high six consecutive games.
"It gave us a little momentum," Gustavsson said.
But the Wild couldn't savor that lead for long.
By 10:24 of the third, they were back to Square 1 after Dallas captain Jamie Benn buried a behind-the-net setup by Wyatt Johnston.
This only dropped the Wild into what's becoming familiar territory: having games decided by one goal and ultimately one play. That's how the Wild's last four outings have ended, with three needing extra time.
"I would like to have a bigger lead," Zuccarello said. "But playing good teams every night you gotta be in those situations and come out with points."
The Wild finally accomplished that to secure their second victory on this seven-game homestand that has two games to go. "It's always nice to get a win," Zuccarello said. "They've been hard to come by of late. It's a really good feel."
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Wild shake off Dallas 2-1 in shootout to gather just second win on long homestand - Star Tribune
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