Heika’s Take: Stars send strong message in divisional win against Wild

The Stars had a lot on their plate on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center.

Goalie Jake Oettinger was returning home to play in front of his family and friends in the building where he occasionally played as a high-schooler. Defenseman Matt Dumba was returning to the place where he played his first 10 NHL seasons and was coming off back-to-back healthy scratches. And the Stars were taking a rare look up at the Wild in the standings, in dire need of not falling further behind in the Central Division race.

And, just like that, it all worked out.

Oettinger stopped 22 shots and now moves to 4-0-1 in Minnesota with a 1.74 GAA and .936 save percentage. Dumba played 14:19, engaged in a first period fight with Zach Bogosian and was given the honorary cowboy hat as player of the game by his teammates. And the Stars took a 2-1 victory to move to 11-5-0 (22 points). They are now 8-0-3 in their past 11 games against the Wild, who sit at 11-3-3 (25 points), still in second place in the division. That said, Dallas is walking out of St. Paul in a pretty good headspace.

“It was a heavy, hard, playoff-type game out there,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “A lot of physicality, a lot of battles, not a lot of room. Both goalies were great. This is always a tough building to come into and win, and we knew that. It was a good two points for us.”

The Stars have had a weaving start to the year, which included two losses in Finland to open the month, but they have now won three straight, and overcame a big challenge in the Wild. Both Winnipeg and Minnesota have roared out to fantastic starts, and while the Stars are good in third place, it still is third place in the division for the team that finished second in the NHL last season.

“It’s early,” said captain Jamie Benn. “We feel good about where we are.”

Dallas seems to have a hex on the Wild. The Stars have beaten Minnesota on a regular basis in the regular season and also in a big playoff series two years ago. In many of the battles, the Wild had the edge in physicality and the lads in Victory Green had to outsmart that philosophy or find a way to win with a scorching power play.

On Saturday, it felt a little different. Both Dumba and defenseman Brendan Smith fought in the first period and brought some significant respect and energy to the bench. The sign was clear that the Stars weren’t going to be pushed around.

“I thought Dumba and Smitty were great with the physicality part,” DeBoer said. “We haven’t been able to come in here and do any of that the last few years. I thought both of those guys stood up and did a good job.”

Dumba said it was a good game for him. He played 598 games with the Wild to open his NHL career, then played with Arizona and Tampa Bay last season. He then signed with the Stars as a free agent in July. He was hurt in the second game of the season and missed four contests. Then, with both Smith and Nils Lundkvist playing well, Dumba was given two healthy scratches. That’s pretty rare for a veteran of his status. He spent several days working with assistant coach Alain Nasreddine, and the work paid off.

“It’s a different system than I ever played, and I‘m trying to learn that,” Dumba said. “That’s part of working with Nas and figuring out where you need to play the structure, where to have a little poise. I feel like it’s coming together. It’s just every day trying to get better.”

Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin has been going through some of the same adjustments. He also signed as a free agent in the summer, and is starting to become a mainstay in the lineup. He had two assists on Saturday – one on a shot that deflected off of Mason Marchment and in, and a great bank pass that set Sam Steel free and led to Marchment’s second goal.

“That’s our job,” Lyubushkin said. “We have to play fast. Stop the puck and give it to forwards. I just did my job, it’s nothing crazy.”

That said, it is a process.

“We have to listen to our coach and do what we have to do,” Lyubushkin said.

Because of those two plays – and great team defense - Dallas was able to build a 2-0 lead and then hold on down the stretch in the third period. Dallas had a 40-23 advantage in shots on goal, and also had a 66-62 edge in shot attempts. That was a great sign for a team that has been playing well with the puck, but the Wild kept pushing and that made things nerve wracking.

Dumba said of the energy in the building. “We did great, we bent but didn’t break. Guys beared down when we needed them, and Otter played a hell of a game. Without him back there, I don’t think we’re in this one.”“I’ve seen that - Xcel on a Saturday night when the fans get behind you.”

It’s another feather in the cap for Oettinger, who treasures these visits. And when you consider how the Central Division is taking shape, there’s a chance this team could play some significant games in St. Paul in the future – so it’s never too early to start sending messages.

“I’ve been in this division my whole career,” Dumba said. “It doesn’t get easier. You have to claw and scrape and these division games are huge, four point games. You get these in regulation, you take them and you move on to the next one.”

Marchment played a significant role in the win. He drove hard to the net and got rewarded twice. He now has nine points in the past three games. Marchment has been flying on a line with Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin once again this season, and that trio created several scoring chances Saturday.

“We could have easily had more,” Marchment said. “I thought we played a pretty sound defensive game too.”

That’s key for a team that still has some ground to make up on Minnesota and Winnipeg.

And that seems to be working – whether the team is rattling off seven goals a game or two.

“I think we’re taking one game at a time now, especially after that Winnipeg game where we definitely didn’t have our best,” Marchment said. “Every night, we’ve been playing better and better and better, just trying to have a complete game. It’s good to get back to our game and play the right way.”

Especially against this team.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @MikeHeika.