Win or lose, the Wild wanted to come heavy for Game 3 of their best-of-seven, first-round playoff series with Dallas. Needed to come heavy. It was imperative after the way they played in Game 2 Wednesday at American Airlines Center.
Not only did that loss tie the series at a game a piece, it showed what the Stars can do if the Wild abandon their identity, abandon the grind.
After falling behind, 2-0, in the first eight minutes, Minnesota started taking chances as they tried to keep up. What they got was the wrong end of a series of odd-man rushes that ultimately buried the Wild, 7-3.
The Wild are not yacht rock — synclaviers and fancy baselines and complex harmonies. They’re heavy — Zeppelin at the Garden. Blue Cheer. Mott the Hoople before Bowie got a hold of them.
Minnesota needed to hog the mic and turn it up to 11 for Game 3 on Friday, to crush Dallas under a barrage of power chords and an unrelenting 4 x 4 beat. They needed to keep it simple, but keep it heavy.
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Wild coach Dean Evason said afterward. “I mean, you guys watch us. We’re always physical. It’s what we do. It’s how we’re built.”
When it all comes together, well, it’s a rush, dude.
Imposing its style, and for the most part its will from the opening faceoff, the Wild rumbled past Dallas, 5-1, at Xcel Energy Center to take a 2-1 series lead into Sunday’s Game 4 at the X.
Certainly the St. Paul crowd was ready for it. From the onset, they booed former Wild defenseman Ryan Suter — the series’ early villain for his cross checks on Kirill Kaprizov in Dallas — every time he touched the puck. While the ice crew scraped the rink in the second period, the fans — 19,309 strong — belted an a capella version of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer” right into the next faceoff.
“Like our group,” Evason said, “they were ready to go from the drop of the puck.”
The Wild were happy to play to the crowd. Matt Dumba, Marcus Foligno and Brandon Duhaime led the way physically, delivering a series of big hits that brought the faithful to their feet and, truth be told, seemed to add up to more than the 12 they were collectively awarded.
“That’s what those guys get paid to do,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said.
Foligno was the ringleader. His power play deflection of a Gus Nyquist shot with just under 9 minutes left in the second gave the Wild a 3-1 lead. Initially waved off with a high stick call — and harshing Foligno’s celebration — it was allowed after video review.
In the third period, Foligno blew up Jamie Benn near the net, then was knocked down in retaliation by Thomas Harley — and penalized for embellishment. Before skating the box, he mimicked diving, something Evason accused the Stars of doing in Game 3.
The man was in his element.
“It’s not just the game, it’s the series,” Foligno said. “It fits me well.”
Even Mats Zuccarello got into the act, taking a roughing penalty after being collared by Colin Miller in the third period — although Zuccarello made his presence felt primarily on offense. He gave the Wild a 1-0 lead with a greasy backhand from a scrum in the crease at 16:45 of the first period, then corralled a long outlet from Ryan Hartman and buried a breakaway wrister for a 4-1 lead with just under six minutes left.
Because the Wild never relented, Dallas never really got its legs, managing only Luke Glendening’s second-period goal. The Stars pulled Jake Oettinger with more than 2 minutes still to play, and Ryan Hartman — who missed Game 2 with a lower body injury — added an empty-netter to seal it.
The heavy game — the Wild are calling it “grit” — is the blueprint. When they got away from it in February, they fell briefly out of the playoff race. When they got back to it, they went into the final week vying for the Central Division title. And it’s how they earned their two victories in this series.
Game 4 starts at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the X, and the Wild vowed to go into it with another clean slate.
“Tonight when we get home, this game is over. It’s a race four (wins),” Zuccarello said. “This game, too, we’ve got to forget it quick.”
Well, don’t forget everything.
