Heika’s Take: Murray, Stars put together defensive gem against Wild

Matt Murray stepped up big time Monday night.

He also had a lot of help from his friends.

The 25-year-old Murray made 23 saves in a 4-0 win over the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, giving Scott Wedgewood a much deserved night off and getting a huge boost in confidence in the process. But while the Stars’ third goalie was spectacular, his teammates killed up 10:22 in penalties and scored two shorthanded goals.

It was a significant moment for a team that was in an 0-2-1 mini slump and needed the points to keep pace with the leaders in the Central Division.

Dallas moves to 23-11-5 (51 points). Winnipeg sits at 26-9-4 (56 points) and Colorado is at 26-12-3 (55 points).

“It was big,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “We needed that. We needed a good goaltending performance on the road, and this is always a tough building to play in.”

Murray definitely provided an impressive effort. The undrafted backstop out of U-Mass Amherst has played the past two seasons with the Texas Stars. He came up last season when Wedgewood was hurt and appeared in three games, winning one. This year, he’s backed up Wedgewood in 11 games while Jake Oettinger deals with a lower body injury. Wedgewood began to struggle in recent games, so DeBoer decided now was the time to go with Murray. It was the perfect call. The native of St. Alberts, Alberta stopped seven Minnesota shots in an early run, setting a fantastic tone for the rest of the game.

“It definitely helps you get in the groove, seeing pucks early is always a good thing,” Murray said. “I’ve always enjoyed that as a goalie. I thought it was a good way to get things started.”

Dallas took four penalties in the first period and played shorthanded for much of the time. DeBoer said there were more than just a few problems which allowed that to happen, but his players tightened up as the game went on and played very good defense in the third period.

“I hated our first period,” he said. “I thought in the second, we started to play, and in the third we really locked things down defensively as a group.”

That was perfect for Murray, who was able to react to the firing gallery early and then settle into a comfortable cocoon late. Minnesota had just two shots on goal in the third period as Dallas helped usher Murray home with the shutout.

“They were amazing,” Murray said of his teammates. “A shutout goes to the goalie, but it’s such a team accolade. I thought the guys did an amazing job keeping things pretty perimeter. They made it a lot easier than it could have been.”

The penalty kill was a huge part of that. Dallas killed off all six of Minnesota’s man advantages, including a 5-on-3, and also scored two shorthanded goals. Tyler Seguin set up Roope Hintz for what would prove to be the game-winner at 9:16 of the first period. The score stayed that way until Seguin scored early in the third period to give Dallas a 2-0 cushion. Radek Faksa then added another shorthanded goal in the third period to make it 3-0, and Jason Robertson capped the scoring with a power play goal in the third.

It was a huge night for the penalty killers. Jani Hakanpää logged 7:47 on the kill. Esa Lindell had 7:46, and Faksa had 5:20. Stars assistant coach Alain Nasreddine directs the penalty kill and pushes hard to give it an identity. He has inherited a strong base in players like Lindell, Hakanpää and Faksa, and he has added to it with players like Hintz, Seguin and Sam Steel.

“It’s a big part of what we do,” DeBoer said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who buy into it. Your goaltender is always your best penalty killer, but we’ve got a group of guys that are built back there to kill penalties and then when you add players like Roope Hintz and Seguin and Sam Steel, who have an offensive element, it makes you dangerous going the other way.”

Dallas is now tied for second in shorthanded goals with nine and ranks fourth on the penalty kill. That includes 89.8% on the road, which leads the NHL.

All of it combined to give Murray a very special night.

“It was great,” Murray said. “Obviously, playing in the NHL is one thing, it’s every kid’s dream. But to be able to get a shutout, I’m ecstatic.”

Faksa said he thought Murray handled the pressure well. He last started in the AHL on December 15 and has been backing up since he was promoted. He’s gotten plenty of practice, as well as time to work with Wedgewood, and that’s helped. On Monday, though, he had to navigate the mental challenge and handle the pressure.

“Before the game, I was watching him,” Faksa said. “He was calm, lots of confidence. He played really well and kept us in the game. When it was 4-0, everyone was making sure the puck cleared the zone to get the shutout for him. We were so happy for him. He played great.”

“For sure, they want to bounce back,” Faksa said of the Wild. “The fans weren’t very happy, so they will be frustrated and we expect a big jump from them.”

Minnesota falls to 17-18-4 and is 1-5-0 in the past six games. The two teams will meet again in Dallas on Wednesday.

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 Twitter @MikeHeika.