Dallas Stars' Game 1 woes continue in loss to Minnesota Wild - ESPN

DALLAS — An unfamiliar feeling for the Minnesota Wild came at the expense of an all-too-familiar experience for Jake Oettinger and the Dallas Stars.

The Wild's 6-1 win Saturday in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals was the first time they've won a playoff game since April 17, 2023, when they beat, you guessed it, the Stars.

Even that loss from three years ago is part of a much larger pattern for the Stars. Losing this Game 1 in front of their fans at the American Airlines Center marked the ninth time in their past 11 playoff series that they've fallen in the opening contest.

Dallas' Game 1 defeat to the Colorado Avalanche by four goals in last year's quarterfinal round extended its streak to eight straight Game 1 losses. The Stars snapped that streak with a semifinal round win against the Winnipeg Jets and won a second Game 1 in a row in the Western Conference finals vs. the Edmonton Oilers.

But a year later, here they are, right back in a 1-0 series hole.

«It's a long series, it's a best-of-seven and it's one game,» Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen said when asked about his team's Game 1 struggles. «We have to be better than that, but there's a good chance to win this one still. It's just one game, but we have to be better. We have to move on and get back to it.»

The Stars' latest loss started when Mats Zuccarello and Matt Boldy executed a series of tic-tac-toe passes on the Wild's first power play that led to an open Joel Eriksson Ek beating Oettinger from the low slot for a 1-0 lead with 15:35 remaining in the first. Eriksson Ek's opening salvo was the first of four unanswered goals, three of which came in the second period.

Oettinger allowing four goals in not even two full periods raised the question if