Wild defeat Stars 3-2 in double OT to secure Game 1 win

DALLAS — Ryan Hartman gave the Minnesota Wild a 3-2 win in their playoff opener — a game that began Monday night and dragged into early Tuesday morning.

Hartman scooped up the puck and fired a wrister over the extended leg of Jake Oettinger to give the Wild a 1-0 series lead in their Western Conference Quarterfinal matchup.

“Their goalie was fantastic, our goalie was fantastic,” Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. “Some of the saves that both of them made were, it feels like nobody is going to score, right?”

Oettinger didn't keep his head down after the bitter loss and says he's ready for Game 2.

“Just a bounce that went their way,” Oettinger said. “We had a couple that didn’t go our way and that’s hockey. ... Tight game and two good teams, and it’s going to be a heck of a series.”

The second game of the series is Wednesday night in Dallas.

The Stars had just failed to capitalize on a power play after Jamie Benn was tripped up by Frederick Gaudreau 9:11 into the second overtime. Roope Hintz, who scored on a power play in the second period, hit the post during the exchange.

Filip Gustavsson was a beast in the net, as he stopped 52 shots for the Wild, including 12 in the third period and 17 in the first overtime. He started Game 1 ahead of three-time Stanley Cup champion Marc-André Fleury, who had split games with Gustavsson throughout the regular season. The decision to put in the young netminder appears to be a good call.

Oettinger had 45 saves for the Stars.

Stars center Joe Pavelski, 38, left the game midway through the second period after a high hit from Matt Dumba, who was initially handed a five-minute major, but was later changed to a two-minute minor following a lengthy replay review.

Stars head coach Pete DeBoer isn't sure if Pavelski will be ready for Wednesday.

“I’m not confident for Game 2,” he stated. “He’s okay, he’s walking out of the rink on his own OK.”

“To be honest, I thought it was a clean hit,” Dumba said. “Shoulder on shoulder. I don’t even know why I got the roughing, probably because I was just in the box already.”