DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild have expected this first-round playoff matchup for months, and the Central Division rivals really set a tone for the series in a physical game just over a week ago in the same building.
“I think it's exactly what it was,” Stars forward Mikko Rantanen said Friday.
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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)
Minnesota Wild's Quinn Hughes, left, Dallas Stars' Mikko Rantanen, center, and Joel Eriksson Ek (14) fight in the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) celebrates with the team after scoring against the Dallas Stars in the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) and Ilya Lyubushkin (46) celebrate after Robertson scored in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas won 5-4 in that game April 9, when there were 12 roughing penalties — six on each side. Each team won twice in the regular-season series in which both scored 13 goals.
“They got the best of us for sure, but it was a great hockey game for the end of a regular season,” Minnesota forward Matt Boldy said.
Now, the teams that were in second and third place in the Central throughout most of the season behind Presidents' Trophy winner Colorado play a best-of-seven series. Game 1 is Saturday in Dallas.
The Wild missed a chance that night to match the Stars in the standings. Instead, Dallas pretty much locked up home-ice advantage with the second of five consecutive wins to end the regular season.
“We learned some lessons last time we played them," Wild forward Marcus Foligno said. “We know that they’re a really, really good team, and so are we. They have some lethal weapons. We’re just more educated, more experienced going into this series than we were before. We always like our chances. We’re positive.”
Both teams have a pair of 40-goal scorers in the same season for the first time. Kirill Kaprizov (45 goals) and Boldy (42) did it for the Wild. Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston, the 22-year-old center already in his fourth postseason, each scored 45 goals for the Stars.
“That’s a legit number,” Stars veteran forward Matt Duchene said.
Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen skated with the team Friday for the first time since a lower-body injury sustained when he was knocked hard into the boards by Ryan Hartman in the last game against the Wild.
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said Heiskanen, who missed the start of last year's playoffs, made it through practice with no issues and felt good.
“I would think that as long as everything goes good, he should be in,” Gulutzan said. “He means everything on both sides of the puck for us. Power play, penalty kill, he touches all parts of the game.”
Stars top-line center Roope Hintz, who last played March 6, will miss the start of the playoffs after a setback in his recovery from a lower-body injury.
Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes, who has been dealing with an illness since last playing Saturday, traveled to Dallas on his own Friday after not going with the team Thursday.
“With the illness, I think more rest for him and just not having him on the plane,” coach John Hynes said. “The expectation is for him to play."
Jake Oettinger is going into his 11th playoff series as the starting goalie for the Stars, and second for the Minnesota native against the Wild — he grew up about 30 miles from their arena. His first playoff series win was in six games against the Wild in the first round of the 2023 postseason.
The Wild are going with rookie Jesper Wallstedt over playoff-experienced Filip Gustavsson, though Hynes emphasized that is a decision for Game 1 and not the entire series.
“His overall body work has been really solid. He's played really well coming down the stretch,” Hynes said of the 23-year-old rookie. “We're confident in both guys.”
Gustavsson made his playoff debut three years ago with 51 saves in a double-overtime win over the Stars during Game 1. Wallstedt made 33 starts in his NHL debut this season, ranking second in the league with a .916 save percentage while setting franchise rookie records with 18 wins and four shutouts.
While the Stars will be plenty focused on trying to keep Kaprizov and Boldy off the scoresheet, the Wild have a trusty scorer on their third line with plenty of playoff experience in Vladimir Tarasenko. The longtime St. Louis star, who has won the Stanley Cup twice in his 14-year career, has 49 goals in 121 career playoff games. Tarasenko had 23 goals and 24 assists in his first season with Minnesota.
“He’s a big-game player," Hynes said. “I think that leadership and the way he plays is certainly a playoff-style of game.”
The Stars won both previous postseason series against Minnesota in six games, in 2016 and 2023. ... Dallas was the Minnesota North Stars before the franchise moved south in 1993. ... The Wild's 12 postseason appearances in 14 years are the most in the NHL during that span. They have lost nine straight series, since beating St. Louis in the first round in 2015. .... Dallas is in its fifth consecutive postseason, the last three ending in the West final. ... Gulutzan, part of 83 playoff games as an Edmonton assistant, including trips to the Stanley Cup Final the last two seasons, is looking for his first postseason win as a head coach. Calgary was swept in the first round by Anaheim with Gulutzan in 2017.
AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell contributed from St. Paul, Minnesota.
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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)
Minnesota Wild's Quinn Hughes, left, Dallas Stars' Mikko Rantanen, center, and Joel Eriksson Ek (14) fight in the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) celebrates with the team after scoring against the Dallas Stars in the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) and Ilya Lyubushkin (46) celebrate after Robertson scored in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Defense witnesses in the prosecution of the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk said Friday that conjecture in the media over his guilt and depictions of him as a “monster” are making it impossible for Tyler Robinson to get a fair trial.
The pretrial testimony came as Robinson’s attorneys pressed a Utah judge to ban cameras from his case. They said live broadcasts of the proceedings are tainting potential jurors, by feeding into speculative stories based on Robinson's courtroom demeanor and alleged confessions.
Media organizations, prosecutors and Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, want the court to allow cameras. They argue transparency is the best way to guard against the misinformation and conspiracy theories that concern Robinson’s defense team.
Robinson’s parents sat behind him for Friday's hearing in a half-full courtroom. His father lowered his head and stared down at his hands while the defense played a Fox News clip in which a commentator identified as a former FBI agent opined that Robinson was a sociopath.
“It's turning outside the courtroom into like a reality TV show,” said defense witness Bryan Edelman, a social psychologist with a California-based trial consulting business. “I think it creates pressure on everybody to have cameras in here, from the jury to everyone involved."
Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for Robinson if he is convicted of aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk. The conservative activist was addressing a crowd of thousands on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem when he was shot in the neck.
Robinson, 23, turned himself in a day after the shooting and has not yet entered a plea. A trial date has not been set. Judge Tony Graf said he would rule May 8 on whether cameras will continue to be allowed.
Utah County prosecutor Chad Grunander noted that nearly all of the clips shown by the defense as examples of media sensationalism did not include material from the courtroom livestream.
“Mischief lurks in the dark or in secret,” Grunander said. “Let’s shine a light on these proceedings, a bright light, so the public can have confidence in what happens in this courtroom.”
The sensationalism around the case has cut both ways. In a March 30 headline, the U.K.-based Daily Mail reported the bullet that killed Kirk “did NOT match” a rifle allegedly used by Robinson. The story was based on an inconclusive, preliminary finding by ballistics experts and led to speculation about Robinson's possible exoneration. The FBI is running additional tests, according to court documents.
Livestreaming by media outlets tested Judge Graf's patience during earlier hearings when pool camera operators inside the court broke his rules.
During a December hearing, Graf temporarily stopped the livestream after it showed the defendant’s shackles in violation of a decorum order.
A January hearing was interrupted when Robinson's attorneys said close-up shots of Robinson being livestreamed by a local television station could again lead to claims based on lip reading. That, too, was a violation of Graf's order. The judge ordered the camera operator not to film Robinson for the remainder of the hearing.
In recent hearings and again Friday, pool cameras for the media were stationed at the rear of the courtroom, behind Robinson. That sharply limited opportunities to capture video or photos of him in court. Graf also made camera operators come before him to acknowledge they understood the rules.
Mike Judd, a lawyer for a coalition of media organizations including The Associated Press that are fighting to preserve access, said Graf so far has focused on whether his rules inside the courtroom are being followed, not what the media is saying outside of court.
“The court can do all of that in order to try to control what gets fed into that media ecosystem,” Judd said. “You reduce the likelihood of somebody publishing things that you think may be of potentially biasing concern later on.”
Policies on cameras and livestreaming vary among states. Cameras are generally prohibited in federal courts.
“There's Supreme Court precedent that says courts generally need to be open to the public, but that's not an absolute right,” University of Utah law professor Teneille Brown said. “Even if they allow public access, that does not equal a right to broadcast or record.”
A preliminary hearing scheduled for May will allow prosecutors to show they have enough evidence to proceed to trial. Authorities have said DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the trigger of the rifle, the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges and a towel used to wrap the rifle.
But the defense argued Friday it cannot proceed with the hearing until federal law enforcement agencies turn over more details about their DNA analysis of evidence.
Prosecutors responded that they have sufficient proof beyond DNA to tie Robinson to Kirk's killing. That includes surveillance video of Robinson near the university from the morning of the shooting wearing the same clothes as when he turned himself in. Robinson left a handwritten note for his romantic partner confessing to the crime, and also confessed to friends on the chat room platform Discord, prosecutors said.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride said.
Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride gestures to the defense table in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, April 17, 2026. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Defense attorney Michael Burt attends a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, April 17, 2026. (Trent Nelson /The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, left, speaks with his attorney Kathryn Nester in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, April 17, 2026. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, and defense attorney Kathryn Nester attend a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, April 17, 2026. (Trent Nelson /The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride attends a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, April 17, 2026. (Trent Nelson /The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Defense attorney Richard Novak attends a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, April 17, 2026. (Trent Nelson /The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Judge Tony Graf in 4th District Court presides over a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, April 17, 2026. (Trent Nelson /The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
FILE - Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, on Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)
FILE - A well-wisher places flowers at a makeshift memorial set up for Charlie Kirk at Turning Point USA headquarters, Sept. 11, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
FILE - Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf speaks during a hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, in 4th District Court, March 13, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP, Pool, File)
