Takeaways: Shorthanded Wild begin homestand with victory over Stars

Even decimated, the Wild didn’t let a marquee matchup go to waste.

They rallied to overtake the Stars 5-2 on Thursday night at Grand Casino Arena for their latest statement victory.

“Playing a team like that, that’s been as hot as they were, we were ready for them,” Zach Bogosian said.

Marcus Johansson broke a 2-2 tie 8 minutes, 40 seconds into the third period after Bogosian scored the tying goal late in the second with his first of the season.

Matt Boldy skated in an empty-netter at 18:29 for his third point of the game before Johansson added another off his backhand from Wild territory with 50 seconds to go.

This continued their curious trend of the Wild struggling against the bottom of the league but surging vs. the top: The Wild defeated top-10 teams in Anaheim, Colorado, Carolina, the New York Islanders and Vegas before adding Dallas to their résumé while ending the Stars’ 11-game point streak with Dallas’ only second regulation loss on the road.

The Wild were back home to begin a four-game homestand after splitting their last road trip because of back-to-back losses to last-place Calgary and Vancouver.

Dallas capitalized again, but the goal was called back for being off-sides — a timely coach’s challenge by the Wild en route to their comeback, which was helped along by Boldy’s two assists.

Aside from setting up Eriksson Ek, Boldy threw a saucer pass to Johansson that Johansson buried for his second consecutive third-period game-winner.

“[Boldy] was a big difference-maker tonight in many different facets, and we needed him,” coach John Hynes said. “So, it was great for him to have a performance like that for us.”

Filip Gustavsson finished with 16 saves off a season-low 18 shots for the Stars in his second consecutive start, as the Wild stopped the goalie rotation between him and Jesper Wallstedt that had been going for 14 games.

“They just wait for the perfect opportunity,” Gustavsson said. “They’re not a volume team. You could see even though they didn’t have a shot the first 10 minutes, they still were in the zone, and they’re creating chances.”

The Wild were missing five regulars, with Mats Zuccarello and Jake Middleton going on injured reserve after they were hurt Monday at Seattle.

Marco Rossi, Marcus Foligno and Vinnie Hinostroza also remain sidelined; while Rossi is on the ice, neither Foligno nor Hinostroza is skating.

“We have belief, and we know what we’re capable of,” Boldy said. “There’s never been a doubt in that.”

Dallas runs on a less-is-more offense, and the Wild were acquainted with that style early.

They outshot the Stars 9-0, but a hooking penalty by Ryan Hartman gave Dallas the chanced to flip the momentum on its only power play, and the Stars did just that: They made good on their first puck on net, a wind-up by Jason Robertson that clipped Boldy’s stick before eluding Gustavsson 9:32 into the first period.

But the Stars continued to shine on special teams.

After Gustavsson covered up a puck on the power play to necessitate a whistle, the Wild lost the ensuing faceoff and Miro Heiskanen to drain a point shot 10:19 into the second and give Dallas two goals on a measly nine shots; the Wild went 0-for-3 on the power play in addition to giving up the shorthanded goal.

“It’s really strong from the group to stay with it and not worry about it,” Johansson said. “It’s a good team we played today. So, they’re going to have their moments, and they’re going to get breaks. We just kept going.”

The Stars sunk their next shot, too, courtesy Wyatt Johnston, but the Wild challenged for offside, and a video review showed Robertson did precede the puck into the offensive zone to negate the goal.

“When you see the replay, it was kind of an easy one,” Hynes said.

“That was a classic just get it on net,” Bogosian said after his 65th goal in 18 NHL seasons, “and luckily it went in.”

Then in the third, Boldy flung the puck at Johansson, who one-timed in the feed to remain clutch for the Wild; Johansson also netted the go-ahead goal in the third period of the Wild’s 4-1 win over the Kraken on Monday.

“It was a great play by [Boldy],” Johansson said. “We kind of tried that faceoff play a few times, and it worked out perfectly.”

Johansson’s 11 goals match his output from each of his previous two seasons.

“Jojo is having a great year,” Hynes said. “He’s always been a player that we valued, whether he was scoring or whether he wasn’t scoring. This year he’s getting rewarded more than in my experiences with him the last couple years, but I don’t think his game has changed. He’s a smart player. He’s got some good offensive instincts.”

BOXSCORE: Wild 5, Dallas 2

NHL standings

A competitive game vs. Dallas would have been impressive with the Wild at full strength let alone playing a patchwork lineup.

Despite losing two more key players to injury in Zuccarello and Middleton, the Wild didn’t sag. They were a challenge for the Stars, who are a unique test since they have elite offensive talent but are stingy with their shots.

As such, the Wild looked like they were in control more often, but the margin of error was razor-thin; the Wild experienced that, getting stung twice on the power play — theirs and Dallas’.