Preview: Stars goalie Antti Niemi made 14 of his 28 saves in the third period Wednesday to set up a chance for Dallas to advance to the second round Friday. Only 28 times in 255 opportunities have teams rallied from a 3-1 series deficit in the NHL. The Wild achieved that feat twice during the 2003 playoffs against Colorado and Vancouver. The Wild has lost eight of its past nine.
Players to watch: Wild RW Jason Pominville is tied for fourth in the NHL with three playoff goals. Pominville and linemates Erik Haula and Nino Niederreiter have combined for 10 points. LW Mikael Granlund and D Ryan Suter have no points in the series. Stars LW Jamie Benn has registered at least one point in nine of his 10 career playoff games (six goals, 11 points). He has a 12-game point streak against the Wild dating to the 2014-15 regular season. Stars RW Patrick Sharp has nine goals and 16 points in 18 career playoff games against the Wild. RW Ales Hemsky scored his first career playoff goal since the 2006 Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday.
Numbers: Since 2003-04, the Wild is 4-17-6 in Dallas, its worst record in any road arena. … The Wild's power play is two for its past 28 dating to the regular season.
Injuries: Wild LW Zach Parise (back) and LW Thomas Vanek (ribs) are out. Stars C Tyler Seguin (lower body) is out.
Michael Russo
