NHL postseason opening round quick hits: Stars vs. Wild

Vitals
Dallas: (50-23-9) 1st in Central Division
Minnesota: (38-33-11) 5th in Central Division

Season Series
Dallas took four of the five games played against Minnesota this season, although three of them came in overtime.

Looking at the Matchup
NHL.com is suggesting that the season series between the Stars and Wild isn’t the best way to gauge how they’ll match up in Round 1, given that Minnesota’s interim head coach John Torchetti took over for Mike Yeo after the series had concluded. Plus, Minnesota has the postseason experience that Dallas lacks — although the Wild has a couple top players sidelined with injury. Top-scorer Zach Parise will reportedly miss at least two games with an upper-body injury.

The Stars are no stranger to the injury bug, with forward phenom Tyler Seguin still questionable to start Game 1. If Jamie Benn and the Stars want to get past the first round in this second playoff appearance in a seven-season span, they will have to continue relying on an explosive offense and a chemistry-driven blue line. Their goaltending tandem of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi has been touch-and-go down the stretch and could be in trouble if Minnesota’s offense gets hot.

Quotables
"Everyone needs to step up. It's not one or two guys that's going to make a difference. It's a team game, it's a team effort." —Jason Pominville, winger, Minnesota Wild ( via The Denver Post)