Wild goalie Alex Stalock figured his counterpart, Ben Bishop, knew what captain Mikko Koivu would try in the shootout, especially by the way the Stars goalie reacted to the attempt.
"You saw him," Stalock said. "He wanted to break his stick because he knew it was coming."
Koivu, indeed, stuck with his patented move — flicking the puck into the net on his backhand — and his proficiency not only rewarded the Wild with a 3-2 shootout victory Sunday, but it also wrapped up his 1,000th game in memorable fashion.
"It's his move, in the shootout to win it, in his 1,000th game," said winger Marcus Foligno. "You couldn't write a better script. We're so excited for him and his accomplishment."
The finish was Koivu's 42nd in a shootout, which is the most in Wild history, and it sealed his 18th game-deciding goal. That output is tied for the third-most in the NHL since the format was introduced ahead of the 2005-06 season.
"Just tried to pick a move that I'm comfortable with," said Koivu, whose parents and brother Saku from Finland were in attendance.
Powerful play
Koivu had a chance to shine in the shootout after linemate Zach Parise tied it at 2 with 2 minutes, 30 seconds to go in the third period.
The goal was the second by the power play, which has capitalized eight times over the last seven outings and scored in all but one game in that span. Those eight tallies were tied for the most in the NHL since Nov. 19.