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Wild need to 'play with emotion, not emotional' in Game 3 against Dallas
Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes and forward Ryan Hartman met with reporters Tuesday after the team flew home from Dallas earning a 1-1 split in the best-of-seven series. Game 3 is Wednesday night at Grand Casino Arena.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Wild flew home Tuesday after a 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 2 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs series.
The two teams are tied 1-1, with Game 3 set for Thursday night at Grand Casino Arena.
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Timberwolves, Wild playoff series tied 1-1
The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 119-114 Monday night, and the Minnesota Wild lost to the Dallas Stars 4-2. Both playoff series are tied 1-1 as they flip to Minnesota, and FOX 9's Pierre Noujaim breaks down both of Monday night's games with Rob Olson.
Taking home ice
What we know:
The Wild flipped the series in Game 1 with a 6-1 victory over the Stars. It was a game they dominated from the opening faceoff.
They expected a response from the Stars, knowing they couldn’t afford to come to Minnesota down 0-2 in the series. Now the Wild have to defend their home ice at Grand Casino Arena. But the team doesn’t look at it that way.
Game 2 gets physical
What they're saying:
Monday night’s Game 2 got extremely physical at times, especially after a whistle and stoppages in play. The Wild got called for eight penalties in the loss, including five alone in the third period.
Wild players said after the game they have to play smarter, and stay out of the penalty box. Coach John Hynes echoed that after the team landed in the Twin Cities on Tuesday.
"The issues we had to me are all controllable. The thing I love about our group is we’re extremely competitive. I think now it’s understanding we have to play with emotion, and not emotional. To me that’s controllable," Hynes said.
"It’s not going in and stealing, it’s one game at a time. We went 1-1, we were competitive in both games. We can be better tomorrow," Hynes said.
"It’s the playoffs, we don’t expect to win all four games and sweep every series. It would be really easy to win the Stanley Cup if that were the case," forward Ryan Hartman said.
Controversial call
The backstory:
The Wild trailed 3-2 late in regulation Monday night and were in the process of pulling Jesper Wallstedt off the ice for an extra skater.
But they were called for too many men on the ice before they could, and Dallas took advantage with a power-play, empty-net goal. Hynes didn’t agree with the call, and it gave the Wild little to no chance to get a game-tying goal that would force overtime.
"Ek was five feet from the bench and Brink was coming off. It had no impact on the play, but they called it," Hynes said.
Injury updates
Dig deeper:
Hynes had no updates on Mats Zuccarrello (upper body) and Yakov Trenin, who left Monday night’s game after a blindside hit. Hynes said he hopes to have more information Wednesday morning.
What's next:
Game 3 is set for 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Grand Casino Arena.