Minnesota won because Wallstedt conceded 2.50 goals below league average on 45 shots, providing a margin Dallas could not overcome despite a perfect power play.
⚡TURNING POINT
Foligno's equalizer at 14:40 of the third erased Dallas's lead with 5:20 remaining, stripping the Stars of the game-management position a two-goal cushion would have secured. Without it, Minnesota never reaches overtime — and Boldy never gets the chance to close it.
🏆WHY MIN WON (ranked by impact — most decisive first)
1
Goaltending: Wallstedt conceded 2.50 goals below league average on 45 shots — in a 3-goal game decided in overtime, that margin was the game itself.
2
Physical Pressure: MIN registered 42 hits to DAL's 22 — that sustained physical dominance suppressed Dallas's ability to sustain offensive zone time in the third and OT when it mattered most.
3
Defensive Generation: Faber posted 5 SOG, 35:47 TOI, and a +2 rating — a defenseman driving that volume and impact from the blue line created sustained offensive pressure Dallas could not match structurally.
📉WHY DAL LOST (ranked by impact — biggest failure first)
1
Special Teams Collapse: MIN went 0/4 on the power play — yet Dallas still surrendered the lead, meaning even full special-teams shutdown could not compensate for even-strength defensive failures.
2
Goaltending Margin Shortfall: Oettinger conceded 1.30 goals below average on 43 shots — a meaningful performance, but 1.20 goals short of Wallstedt's margin in a game decided by one goal.
3
Giveaways: DAL surrendered 15 giveaways to MIN's 19, but with Dallas holding the lead entering the third, those turnovers fueled the offensive-zone time Minnesota needed to force the tying goal.
Three Stars
Matt Boldy1st
MIN, L
1G4 SOG29:52 TOI+1 rating
His overtime winner on 4 shots across nearly 30 minutes of ice time delivered the decisive blow when Dallas had no answer in extra time.
Jesper Wallstedt2nd
MIN, G
SV% 0.95643/45 saves79:31 TOI
Conceding 2.50 goals below league average on 45 shots, he held a high-volume Dallas attack to two goals across regulation and overtime.
Brock Faber3rd
MIN, D
1G 1A5 SOG35:47 TOI+2 rating
Logging the most ice time on the ice and contributing at both ends, Faber's two-point night and shot volume defined Minnesota's defensive-to-offensive transition game.
·Momentum Shift
Minnesota controlled the first period with 13 shots to Dallas's 10, but Dallas flipped the ice entirely in the second — outshooting Minnesota 16–5 to convert that dominance into a power-play goal and a lead. That swing explains why Dallas entered the third with an advantage it ultimately could not protect.
