Matthew Seminoff reached the penalty sheet before the scoring sheet, which is a mildly awkward way to begin a hockey night. The important entry came later: his even-strength goal at 15:33 of the second period gave Dallas the lead in a 2-0 preseason victory over the Minnesota Wild at American Airlines Center.
His goal deserves the larger share of attention. Dallas spent more than half the game looking for a way past Jesper Wallstedt, and Seminoff provided it. An evening that could have been remembered for a five-minute penalty instead included the shot that finally separated the teams.
Seminoff and Minnesota defenseman Carson Lambos received matching five-minute majors for fighting at 1:39 of the second period. Both went to the penalty box, and neither club gained a power play from their matching penalties. Seminoff’s goal arrived much later in the period, at 15:33. The two entries make an eventful evening; the latter made it a productive one for Dallas.
Seminoff’s scoring play supplied a far cleaner measure of value. With the game still scoreless, he put Dallas ahead 35:33 after the opening faceoff. Kyle Capobianco assisted, and the goal arrived at even strength rather than on one of the night’s several special-teams opportunities. Minnesota’s Jesper Wallstedt stopped 22 of 24 shots, but Seminoff’s finish was one of only two Dallas attempts to beat him.
Dallas had only four shots on goal in the first period. The Stars raised that total to 11 in the second, more than doubling their opening output and giving Wallstedt a busier middle frame. Seminoff’s finish came with 4:27 remaining before the intermission. Dallas finally had something to carry into the third beyond a collection of saves at either end.
Seminoff packed a goal, two shots and the fighting major into 11:13 of ice time across 16 shifts. He did not need a heavy workload to leave a mark on the score. That is a useful preseason return, although one game cannot settle a roster place. Dallas could evaluate a scoring contribution alongside the five minutes he spent unavailable in the penalty box.
The Stars still needed Poirier to make that contribution hold up. He stopped all 24 Wild shots in the shutout, with Minnesota finishing the third period with 11 shots on goal. Wallstedt, meanwhile, stopped 22 of 24 at the other end. Dallas had found a lead, but it had not found an opposing goaltender willing to let the game get away from Minnesota.
The Stars then received insurance from Esa Lindell at 10:39 of the third, with 9:21 remaining. Capobianco collected his second assist of the night, and Artem Shlaine also assisted. That sequence changed the practical shape of the finish: Poirier no longer had to protect a one-goal margin, and Minnesota’s late 11-shot period could not erase the cushion.
