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Minnesota Wild forward Kiril Kaprizov (Nick Wosika-Imagn Images)

3 Takeaways From the Wild’s Loss to the Stars

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Mariah E. Stark | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 8:15 AM ET

The Minnesota Wild started their five-game road trip off in Texas against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, Oct. 14. After salvaging a shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings at home the night before, the Wild looked to have a better performance against the Stars. They started out better, but it didn’t last once the Stars got on the scoreboard first.

The Stars continued to put up goals while the Wild struggled to keep up. In the third period, they found some life, and their power play tried to save them once again. They did what they could to fight back in the final period, but they ran out of time and fell 5-2. In this article, we’ll take a look at a few takeaways, starting with the power play once again.

Wild’s Power Play Success Continues

It’s safe to say the Wild have found the power play units they want to have for the rest of the season or until Mats Zuccarello comes back, at least. Their top unit has been on fire since the first game of the season, and they’ve scored a goal in all four games of the season. Just when the team seemed like they were about to give up, their power play stepped up and scored.

They didn’t step up just once, either, but twice to get their team back within a goal. There were a few other chances the Wild had on the power play, but they couldn’t convert, just like they couldn’t score a 5-on-5 goal. It’s great that the Wild have found success on the power play, especially Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, but they have to be more than just that.

On the other hand, if they can’t get their even-strength goals to come, having a power play that is successful is better than no goals at all. Hopefully, the Wild can keep the goals coming but add some at 5-on-5 as well.

Wild’s Penalty Kill Falls

The Wild’s penalty kill wasn’t perfect so far this season, but it had been doing better until they faced the Stars. It seems like every time the Wild face the Stars, their penalty kill struggles, and they get stuck in a penalty rut they can’t get out of. The same thing happened in their most recent battle this season.

The Wild found themselves in the penalty box to start the game. They were able to kill the first penalty off, but the second one was when the Stars scored to take their first lead. The Wild couldn’t find a way to stay out of the penalty box and allowed a second shorthanded goal. They did take two more penalties in the third, but they killed them off.

As the season goes on, the Wild have to continue to stay disciplined. They did so in the first few games, but again, against the Stars, they struggled. Hopefully, they can get their penalty kill back on track before the rest of this road trip, and they’ll be able to find success.

Wild Stay on Road

The Wild are only four games into the season, so they have time to fix things, but they need to get ahead of it now rather than later. Obviously, their 5-on-5 needs work, as does their penalty kill, but their faceoffs need the same help that’s been needed over the past few seasons as well. They had done well early with blocked shots, but against the Stars, they struggled in that area, too.

They could also use some scoring from outside the top line; players like Ryan Hartman, Marcus Johansson, and Vladimir Tarasenko all could be contributing more to the Wild’s offense. The one area that has suffered a bit, but isn’t something to worry about yet, is the goaltending. Both Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt have had times of struggle but found ways to step up and play well.

The final bright spot is the Wild know they are capable of finding ways to dig deep, and although they didn’t win against the Stars, they proved they can climb back into games. The good thing is the Wild know the areas they need to fix, and although they haven’t gotten it under control yet, they haven’t had a lot of time to do so. Now they’ll have a couple of days in between games to figure some things out.

Wild Stay on Road

The road trip may not have started the way the Wild wanted, but they still have time to come home with some wins. They have four more games on the road; their next game is on Friday, Oct. 17, against the Washington Capitals, and it’s the first of another back-to-back. The Capitals will not be an easy team to face, so they’ll need to rest up and come out like they did against the Stars, but find a way to keep it going if they want to win.