Marian Gaborik scores 3 points to lead Wild to 3-1 home win over Dallas

With the first overall selection in the 1988 draft, the Minnesota North Stars selected Mike Modano, the swift skating American-born forward who was playing for Prince Albert of the Western Hockey League. In the 1989-90 season, Modano quickly became a fan favorite as well as an object of affection of many female hockey fans early on as well. When the team left in 1993, Modano departed Minnesota with some choice comments about the women and the fans of the State of Hockey and for some fans they still haven't forgiven him. Yet, just last year after becoming the top scoring American-born player of all time, topping hometown hero Phil Housely, the Wild decided to honor Modano's accomplishment. There were some cheers and some jeers as the last player from the North Stars team that traveled south still with the team was honored. Personally, I didn't think it was necessary at all to honor Mike Modano whether it made the Wild look classy or not. Modano appeared genuinely surprised and even a little embarrased as the same state where he ripped on the beauty of its women was now giving him such accolades in an important game between the teams. This season, the Stars are out of the playoff race and the Wild are hanging on to a dim hope. Can Minnesota make Mike Modano feel a little more bad about how this season has gone? Or will the Dallas Stars earn a sweep and douse Minnesota's fleeting playoff hopes once and for all? Dallas was forechecking close to start the game as they tried to bottle up the Wild in its own zone early. The Stars would then relax into a 1-2-2 and Kim Johnsson and he wove his way into the Dallas zone only to be stymied by the stick of Virginia, Minnesota-native Matt Niskanen. Minnesota continued to attack and Andrew Brunette fed a pass to the crease for Marian Gaborik to swat at but it was directed to the corner by Matt Climie. Dallas answered back with a rush of its own and James Neal pulled the trigger on a wrist shot that was denied by Niklas Backstrom. The Stars kept taking its chances and Mike Ribeiro managed to keep the puck despite a brief double-team and feed a pass to Steve Ott for a blast that was stonewalled by Backstrom. Dallas was really controlling the pace of play and seemed to have less difficulty in creating offense. Cal Clutterbuck tried to get his team going by throwing his body around, including a solid hit that sent Daryl Sydor reeling. Colton Gillies also showed some good physicality early as he buried Sydor with a big shoulder hit. A broken stick by Mikko Koivu would turn into a scoring chance for Jere Lehtinen who ripped a snap shot that was gloved by Backstrom. Minnesota managed to get a rush into the zone and Andrew Brunette flung a wrist shot that nearly snuck through the pads of Matt Climie who really fought the puck on a pretty mundane shot. Minutes later, the Wild had another terrific chance as James Sheppard slid a pass to Andrew Brunette who stretched out to reach it that was initially stopped by Climie and the puck struck the skate of Brunette and went just wide of the Dallas goal. Mike Ribeiro and the Stars would cycle the puck well along the boards and he would find Steve Ott for an open shot that was knocked down by Backstrom. Dallas would continue to dominate in the Wild zone as they looked as though they were on the power play working the puck along the perimeter and setting up Andrew Hutchinson repeatedly from the point. Minnesota would counter attack and Marian Gaborik made a patient move to wait for support where he fed a cross-ice pass to Andrew Brunette who then centered it back towards the top of the crease where it was expertly tapped it by Climie who stepped out of his crease to challenge Brunette to give the Wild a 1-0 lead. After the goal, Minnesota went on the attack and Cal Clutterbuck stepped into Mike Ribeiro who got the best of him on a big hit but Clutterbuck would go to the net where he gathered up the loose biscuit for a quick shot that was held onto by Climie. Dallas tried to claw its way back into the game and it was again the Lehtinen, Ribeiro and Ott line that was able to create a quality shot from the high slot that was blocked away by Backstrom. Minnesota would tighten up around Backstrom and was able to alleviate pressure and would carry its one-goal lead going into the 2nd period despite being outshot 13 to 6.The 2nd period started out with much better pace as both teams were skating with more intensity. Cal Clutterbuck raced up the ice and he fired a shot that was gloved by Climie. Kurtis Foster would give up a terrible turnover in his own zone that nearly found the back of the net as Steve Ott and fed a pass to Loui Eriksson who rifled a snap shot that was deflected up into the netting by Backstrom. Moments later the Stars had another great chance as Mike Modano missed on a near open net as Niklas Backstrom was caught out of position. Minnesota would give the Stars the first power play of the game as Marek Zidlicky hauled down Jere Lehtinen as he tried to move for a loose puck. Dallas had a terrific chance early as Lehtinen was denied on the doorstep by a great save by Backstrom. Minnesota's penalty killers would rally back and Cal Clutterbuck would pay the price by blocking a shot and seconds later he would steal a pass and clear the zone as he worked a shorthanded 2-on-1 with Stephane Veilleux. With the penalty killed, the Wild's youngster line of Dan Fritsche, Peter Olvecky and Colton Gillies put on a great effort along the boards that did not yield a shot but was given some respect from the appreciative home crowd. Minnesota would draw a penalty as Ivan Vishnevskiy in his NHL debut earned a slashing call. The Wild would make the youngster play for his lack of discipline, as Marian Gaborik received the puck near the half-wall and he moved towards the crease, moving around Daryl Sydor before getting off a quick snap shot that was knocked down by Climie but Eric Belanger was right there to pounce on the rebound to lift Minnesota to a 2-0 lead. Minnesota continued to apply pressure as Mikko Koivu's hustle allowed him to win the race for the puck behind the Dallas net and he slid a pass to the corner that was tracked down by Owen Nolan. Nolan would thread a cross-ice pass to Marek Zidlicky who ripped a shot that was stopped by Climie and right back to the Wild defenseman who slid it over to Owen Nolan who was shut down by the Stars goaltender. The play would become mired in the neutral zone as both team's respective traps were working to full effect. Former UMD Bulldog, Matt Niskanen would not help his team with a slash, giving Minnesota the man-advantage which would again prove awfully costly. On the Wild's 2nd power play, Marian Gaborik fed Marc-Andre Bergeron for a one-timer that was steered aside by Climie. Minnesota continued to attack, and Marek Zidlicky carried the puck down low that nearly resulted in a goal as he fed it out front that was nearly slammed home by Mikko Koivu. Minnesota would gather up the loose puck and Koivu gave a pass to Marian Gaborik in the slot where he fired a shot that was knocked down by Climie and Owen Nolan quickly roofed home the rebound to give the Wild a 3-0 lead. There was a short review, but ultimately NHL referee Bill McCreary pointed to center ice saying its a good goal. The Wild continued to apply pressure, and create a number of great point-blank range chances for Cal Clutterbuck that were stymied by Climie. In a bit of a scary moment, Marian Gaborik would race up the ice where he stepped around Mark Fistric and he would wind up and blaze a shot that was deflected aside by Climie and Fistric knocked the speedy winger into the boards rather awkwardly and he would skate back to the Wild bench rather gingerly. Dallas had a great chance of their own as Mike Modano fed a pass to Brendan Morrison who got a step on the Wild defense and Backstrom bailed his team out with a nice save. Minnesota would receive a standing ovation from the home crowd as it took its three-goal lead into the 3rd period. Dallas was moving their feet well to start the 3rd period, as well as being physical hoping to cut into the Minnesota lead. At times the Wild appeared a bit scrambly in its own end, but were able to get sticks on the Stars' passes and able to skate it out of harm's way. Minnesota would start to press the attack as Andrew Brunette tried to work a give and go with Gaborik that just failed to click. A few minutes later the Wild had another fantastic chance as Stephane Veilleux delivered a perfect centering pass to a crashing Eric Belanger who was shut down by Climie. The missed opportunity would come back to haunt the Wild as the Stars answered back and Mike Ribeiro connected on a pretty saucer pass to Fabian Brunnstrom who tapped a shot by a stretching Backstrom for a goal cutting the Minnesota lead to 3-1. The goal sparked the Stars to attempt the forecheck with increased voracity. Their attempt to comeback suffered a significant setback when Brendan Morrison was caught interfering with Colton Gillies' ability to skate with the play giving the Wild its 3rd power play of the night. Minnesota patiently worked the puck down low where they looked to center a pass into the slot for Owen Nolan but the play would be disrupted by the Stars. The Wild would re-set in the offensive zone where they worked the puck near the perimeter before sliding a pass to Marc-Andre Bergeron for a rocket that whistled wide and off the boards where it caromed right to Marek Zidlicky who tried to go high with a shot but he ended up being off target. The Stars would get the big kill, and Steve Ott found Fabian Brunnstrom who skated into the slot and unleashed a snap shot that was stopped by Backstrom. Dallas continued to attack and James Neal made a great power move to the crease where he pulled along Eric Belanger a his wrist shot was steered to the corner by Backstrom and Belanger would earn a minor for holding. On the power play, Minnesota was solid positionally and kept its sticks active to deflect away passing attempts. Neal would hook Kim Johnsson as he tried to race to a loose puck and for 32 seconds it would be 4-on-4. Minnesota would patiently wait for its shortened power play where again it tried to work for plays from down low and just couldn't get enough stick on their shots to really test Climie. With time evaporating, the Wild would earn one last power play when the hustle of Cal Clutterbuck drew a holding call on Matt Niskanen. Minnesota would rip one last shot from the point, but most importantly they earned a much-needed 3-1 victory. Niklas Backstrom was excellent, making 27 saves in the victory. Backstrom did not have to make a lot of difficult saves, but he was solid enough to start the game when Dallas was carrying the play. Defensively the Wild's blueliners did a good job of not getting caught up chasing the Stars and played smart by disrupting passing and shooting lanes with their sticks. Offensively, Marian Gaborik again demonstrated just how he is such an offensive catalyst he is for this team as he was apart of all 3 of the Wild's goals. It is tough to see how this team will make the post-season ever again without him in the lineup. Owen Nolan continues to be one of the best steals of the offseason at $2.5 million per season fired home his 25th goal of the season. The Wild's offense would really be hurt without his production this season. Minnesota did get some help this evening with the Oilers and Predators losing tonight. It may not be a lot of help, but its too late in the season to be picky now. Wild Notes:~ Wild lineup tonight was the following: Mikko Koivu, Marian Gaborik, Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen, Owen Nolan, Stephane Veilleux, James Sheppard, Cal Clutterbuck, Dan Fritsche, Peter Olvecky, Colton Gillies, Kim Johnsson, Martin Skoula, John Scott, Kurtis Foster, Marek Zidlicky and Marc-Andre Bergeron. Josh Harding backed up Niklas Backstrom. Nick Schultz is out of the lineup with an eye injury, while Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Brent Burns are still saddled with post-concussion symptoms. Derek Boogaard is out with an 'upper body injury.' ~ The 3 Stars of the Game as selected by Let's Play Hockey were: 1st Star Marian Gaborik, 2nd Star Cal Clutterbuck, 3rd Star Niklas Backstrom~ The Minnesota Wild announced they signed 19-year old defenseman, Marco Scandella to an entry level contract. Scandella is also under an amateur tryout with the Wild's American Hockey League affiliate, the Houston Aeros. The Montreal, Quebec-native had 10 goals and 37 points in 58 games for the Val 'd Or Foreurs. The 2nd round (55th Overall) selection in the 2008 draft said in an interview with wild.com's Kevin Falness that he was a Montreal Canadiens fan growing up and is "really excited" about working with the Wild's coaching staff. The 6'3" 206lbs defenseman says he patterns his game after Florida Panthers' defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.