The second-period power play offered Dallas a particularly generous invitation and then watched the Stars politely decline it twice. Minnesota’s Marcus Foligno was called for interference at 14:43, and Yakov Trenin followed with a high-sticking penalty at 16:26. Those overlapping advantages gave Dallas 17 seconds of five-on-three time.
Nothing came of it. The Stars finished 0-for-4 on the power play in Friday’s 2-1 preseason victory over the Wild in St. Paul, and both Dallas goals arrived at even strength. The penalty kill supplied protection, but Dallas left a substantial amount of attacking time unused on the scoreboard.
Dallas did eventually score in the second period, but the timing matters. Trenin’s penalty expired at 18:26. Twelve seconds later, at 18:38, Thomas Harley scored at even strength, with assists from Mikko Rantanen and Jamie Benn. The goal put Dallas ahead 2-1, and it was a legitimate response to the game’s flow, just not a product of the extended man advantage that preceded it.
The sequence is a neat summary of the night. Dallas received 7:43 of power-play time and managed no goals. Minnesota received 6:52 and also went 0-for-4. That symmetry made special teams less a source of separation than a test of which side could avoid turning opportunity into damage. Dallas passed the defensive portion cleanly; its offensive portion remains unfinished business.
The Stars’ penalty kill deserves real credit. Tyler Myers took a cross-checking minor at 3:57 of the first period, and Mikko Rantanen was called for hooking at 15:09. Minnesota also received a third-period advantage after Nils Lundkvist was penalized for holding at 2:58.
Each opportunity ended without a goal. Casey DeSmith stopped all three shots Minnesota recorded on the power play, while Dallas prevented the fourth advantage from changing the scoreboard as well.
That was especially important because Minnesota created the only goal during a stretch when Dallas had no special-teams cushion. Joel Eriksson Ek tied the game at 1:54 of the second, scoring at even strength with help from Blake Coleman and Matt Boldy. Dallas had to rebuild its lead through ordinary five-on-five play, and Harley supplied it before the second intermission.
The opening goal had followed the same script. Radek Faksa scored at 9:18 of the first, assisted by Oskar Bäck and Joel Kiviranta. That even-strength goal was enough to put Dallas ahead.
On the power play, though, Minnesota goalie Jesper Wallstedt faced only two shots and stopped both. Four opportunities had produced two shots on target, leaving the Stars with more to examine than the absence of a goal. Dallas does not need to treat an exhibition as a crisis to want more from that attacking time.
