Robertson's 42nd goal lifts Stars over Wild in a preview before their 1st-round playoff series

DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson scored his 42nd goal with 9:25 left and the Dallas Stars held on for a 5-4 win over the Minnesota Wild in a physical and entertaining preview of the upcoming playoff series between the Central Division foes.

Wyatt Johnston, Mikko Rantanen and Colin Blackwell each had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who now at 106 points are four ahead of Minnesota. They were already locked in as first-round opponents, but both still have three regular-season games left to determine home-ice advantage.

Kirill Kaprizov had two of Minnesota’s three power-play goals, giving him 45 goals overall and matching his single-season franchise record at 19 power-play goals. Mats Zuccarello had three assists.

But the Wild had their four-game winning streak snapped in an uncharacteristic way. It was their first regulation loss since March 2024 when leading going into the third period — 61-0-4 in that span.

Minnesota had another power-play chance after Rantanen’s slashing penalty with 2 1/2 minutes left, but failed to score even with an extra skater after pulling Filip Gustavsson out of the net.

Stars goalie Jake Oettinger had 27 saves. Gustavsson stopped 15 shots.

Johnston’s 44th goal with 4:26 left in the first made it 1-0, and was the only Dallas lead until Robertson scored. Rantanen had the tying goal in the third.

Kaprizov put the Wild up 2-1 with 16 seconds left in the first, then extended that to 3-1 on another power-play goal at the 6:39 mark of the second. Blackwell scored and then assisted on Cameron Hughes’ first career goal for Dallas before Ryan Hartman’s power-play goal with 9 seconds left in the second put Minnesota up 4-3.

Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen never returned after being knocked hard into the boards by Hartman late in the first period. Before that, Heiskanen had hit the puck that deflected off the stick of Joel Ericksson Ek into the face of the Minnesota center who left the ice and also didn’t return the game.

Wild: Play the second of three consecutive road games Saturday at Nashville, which is trying to stay in a playoff spot in the West.

Stars: Play their home finale Saturday against the New York Rangers, the last-place team in the Eastern Conference.

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Dallas Stars center Colin Blackwell (15) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Minnesota Wild in the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Minnesota Wild right wing Ryan Hartman checks his mouth after a stoppage in play against the Dallas Stars in the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Minnesota Wild's Joel Eriksson Ek (14), Kirill Kaprizov, center rear, and Quinn Hughes (43) celebrate in front of Dallas Stars' Colin Blackwell (15) after Kaprizov scored in the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger, right, skates away as teammates and Minnesota Wild players fight in the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy (12) and Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston (53) slam into the boards chasing after the puck in the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

CHICAGO (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes rested several key players Thursday night — and still cruised to an important win.

Defenseman Jalen Chatfield was scratched for Carolina's 7-2 victory at Chicago because of an unspecified injury. Defenseman Jaccob Slavin and forwards Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov also got the night off.

“It speaks to our depth, the style that we play,” said Mark Jankowski, who had two goals in the win. “I think, just the way that we play, we can play with anyone no matter who's in and out of the lineup. Everyone stepped up and did a great job.”

Chatfield took just two shifts in the third period of Tuesday night's 6-5 overtime victory over Boston. He has two goals and a career-high 15 assists in 71 games this season.

“You're always concerned when guys are missing,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I hope it's not anything that's going to drag on.”

The Hurricanes (51-22-6) clinched the Metropolitan Division title with their win against the Bruins. They also lead the Eastern Conference by two points over Buffalo, which posted a 5-0 victory over Columbus on Thursday night.

Jarvis tops Carolina with 32 goals, and Aho has a team-high 53 assists and 79 points. Svechnikov has 30 goals and 39 assists.

“Everyone's dealing with something, unfortunately,” Brind’Amour said. “I mean they could have played, I think, but we're at a point where (a) guy's not close to 100 (percent), there's really no reason to throw him in.”

Defenseman Charles Alexis Legault and forwards Skyler Brind’Amour, Bradly Nadeau and Josiah Slavin skated in the win one day after they were recalled from Carolina's American Hockey League affiliate.

Skyler Brind’Amour is the coach's son, and Slavin is the younger brother of Jaccob Slavin. Skyler Brind’Amour scored a goal in two games with the Hurricanes last April, and Josiah Slavin had an assist in 15 games with the Blackhawks during the 2021-22 season in his only previous NHL action.

“The system's pretty straight up, right? So anyone can squeeze right in,” said William Carrier, who had three assists in the victory. “And they play the same way down there, so they fit right in. It's like they played all season with us.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Anderson (31) celebrates with teammate Sean Walker (26) after defeating the Chicago Blackhawks in an NHL hockey game in Chicago, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Carolina Hurricanes' Rod Brind'Amour, right, uses a coaches challenge for goalie interference with referee Frederick L'ecuyer (17) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)