2 by 2: Stars, Wild exchange quick scoring pairs in 2nd
Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz, left, celebrates with left wing Joel Kiviranta (25) after scoring in the first period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, in Dallas. Credit: AP/Tony Gutierrez
DALLAS — Talk about a 2-by-2 second period in Game 2 between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild.
The teams combined for six goals in the middle period Wednesday night, with two quick scoring pairs by the Stars and an even-faster duo of goals by the Wild.
Stars captain Jamie Benn had a power-play goal and an assist in an 87-second span against Marc-André Fleury that made it 4-1.
Minnesota's two goals in quick succession were Marcus Johansson’s short backhander on a power play, 11 seconds before Frederick Gaudreau had a similar shot past Jake Oettinger to get the Wild within one.
Roope Hintz and Evgenii Dadonov both scored their second goals of the game for Dallas in a 48-second span late in the period for a 6-3 lead. Hintz scored the game's first goal on a short-hander,
The scoring onslaught by the Stars came against three-time Stanley Cup champion goalie Fleury, who got the start even after 24-year-old Filip Gustavsson made his playoff debut with a franchise-record 51 saves in the series opener the Wild won 3-2 in double overtime. That goalie tandem split games through much of the season.
__
Minnesota Wild left wing Marcus Johansson celebrates after scoring against the Dallas Stars in the second period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, in Dallas. Credit: AP/Tony Gutierrez
AP NHL Playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
