Wyatt Johnston's Double-OT Deflection Sends Dallas Past Minnesota, Stars Now One Win Away

Wyatt Johnston just ended one of the wildest playoff games you'll see this year. His power-play deflection at 12:10 of the second overtime gave the Dallas Stars a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round series, and now Dallas has a 2-1 stranglehold on the matchup.

This wasn't some clean, straightforward victory. This was a game that Minnesota had every chance to steal, and they let it slip away in the cruelest way possible.

The Wild Had Their Chances (and Blew Them)

Here's the thing about Game 3: the Wild should've already won. Late in the third period, Minnesota was looking dangerous on a short-handed chance with Matt Boldy in position to strike. But Matt Duchene came back with a desperate backcheck that snuffed out what could've been a backbreaker goal. That save kept Dallas alive.

Then Minnesota got two separate power-play opportunities in overtime. Two. They converted just one of them and finished the night 1-for-7 with the man advantage. In the playoffs, you don't get those kinds of gifts handed to you twice. The Wild learned that the hard way.

Nils Lundkvist's Shot Becomes Johnston's Dagger

The turning point came when Danila Yurov took a delay-of-game penalty, giving Dallas a power play late in the second OT. Nils Lundkvist fired a shot that Johnston tipped in for his third goal in three games. That's efficiency when it matters most.

The final buzzer sounded at 12:54 a.m. CT, and Dallas walked out of St. Paul with the series advantage. The Wild are backed into a corner now, and the Stars smell blood. Game 4 is coming, and Minnesota needs to figure out how they're going to stop bleeding power-play chances away.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.