Minnesota Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek celebrates a goal with left wing Matt Boldy after scoring on the Dallas Stars (Matt Blewett-Imagn Images)

Wild Bounce Back, Take Down Stars 5-2

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Mariah E. Stark | Last updated Dec 11, 2025 11:27 PM ET

The Minnesota Wild hosted the Dallas Stars in the first of a four-game homestand on Thursday night, Dec. 11. The Wild’s injury list increased to five players, with Marco Rossi, Marcus Foligno, Vinnie Hinostroza, Mats Zuccarello, and Jake Middleton all recovering from injuries. The Stars were without Adam Erne, Lian Bichsel, and Tyler Seguin due to injuries.

Filip Gustavsson got his second consecutive start as he was in the net for the Wild, and Minnesota native Jake Oettinger was in the net for the Stars. The game started out in favor of the Stars, but the Wild responded and took the win 5-2. This moved the Wild’s record to 17-9-5 and the Stars to 21-6-5.

Game Recap

The Stars opened the scoring with a power play goal from Jason Robertson midway through the first period to take the 1-0 lead. Miro Heiskanen and Wyatt Johnston assisted him. The Wild answered back in the final minutes of the period with a goal by Joel Eriksson Ek to tie the game 1-1. The lone assist went to Matt Boldy. Those were the only goals of the period, and they went into the second tied.

The Stars got the first goal of the second period also, but this time it was scored shorthanded by Heiskanen. Esa Lindell and Radek Faksa assisted him to make it 2-1. The Stars thought they scored again shortly after their second goal, but it was reversed due to offsides. The Wild scored a few minutes later with a goal from Zach Bogosian that tied the game 2-2. Zeev Buium and Vladimir Tarasenko assisted him. Those were the only goals of the second period, and they went into the third tied.

The Wild recorded their first lead of the game near the midway point of the third period with a goal from Marcus Johansson. Boldy and Eriksson Ek assisted him to make it 3-2. The Wild added an empty net goal by Boldy to make it 4-2 in the final two minutes of the game. Kirill Kaprizov got the lone assist. Johansson scored his second goal of the game shortly after, also on the empty net, to make it 5-2. Tarasenko tallied the lone assist, and the Wild took the win.

The Wild will continue their homestand with a back-to-back on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 13, against the Ottawa Senators and Sunday evening, Dec. 14, against the Boston Bruins. The Stars will head home to host the Florida Panthers on Saturday.