John Torchetti was so dissatisfied with the Wild's physicality in Games 1 and 2 that the first couple of clips he showed the team on video in advance of Game 3 illustrated the fact that if the "littlest" guys on the team — Mikael Granlund and Jared Spurgeon — could play physical, so could everyone else.
Later that night, Torchetti replaced veterans Jarret Stoll and Ryan Carter — the Wild's only two players who have won a Stanley Cup — in the lineup with Zac Dalpe and Kurtis Gabriel.
Dalpe is an energetic, good-skating center who made his playoff debut in Game 1. Gabriel is a minor league heavyweight who fought 15 times for Iowa of the AHL this season. He played three regular-season NHL games totaling two fights and 13 minutes, 29 seconds, and Monday was his playoff debut.
Torchetti described Gabriel before the game as a "hardworking kid, good on the walls, physical, likes to fight. The kind of player you like."
Asked if that's something he felt he'd need in Game 3, the coach said, "I think you need it every night."
Stars coach Lindy Ruff said he wouldn't let Torchetti's lineup decisions influence his.
"If they want to have a more physical lineup, then we have to skate harder," Ruff said.
The Wild wouldn't make Gabriel available to the media before the game, but Dalpe said: "He's big, he keeps things honest out there. He's not a flashy player, but he's a workhorse."