Ryan Hartman scored 12:20 into the second overtime and the Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 in their playoff opener Monday night that dragged into early Tuesday morning.
Hartman gathered the puck in front of the crease and got it past Jake Oettinger at around 1 a.m. local time, ending a more than a four-hour game in which both 24-year-old goalies had spectacular performances.
The Stars had been turned away on a power play after Frederick Gaudreau’s tripping penalty against captain Jamie Benn 9:11 into the second overtime. Roope Hintz, who scored on a power play in the second period, hit the post and there were several other chances before the penalty expired.
Filip Gustavsson stopped 52 shots for the Wild, including 12 in the third period and 17 in the first overtime. He started the opener ahead of three-time Stanley Cup winner Marc-André Fleury after the goalie tandem had split games throughout most of the season.
Oettinger had 45 saves for the Stars in his first playoff game since his 64-save performance in Game 7 in the first round last May when top-seeded Calgary scored the series clincher in overtime.
Game 2 is Wednesday night in Dallas.
Veteran Stars center Joe Pavelski left the game midway through the second period after a massive hit from Matt Dumba, who was only assessed a minor roughing penalty. Referees had initially called it a five-minute major, but changed it after a lengthy replay review.
Another playoff hit Pavelski took in 2019, when still with San Jose, helped lead the NHL to expand its video review process to allow referees to review major penalties and gave them the option to reduce them to a minor, as happened on the hit by Dumba.
