Tarasenko Overtime Goal Lifts Wild Past Stars

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Vladimir Tarasenko scored at 3:06 of overtime Saturday, giving the Minnesota Wild a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars at Grand Casino Arena. The win pulls Minnesota within five points of Dallas in the Central Division standings.

Bobby Brink’s pass to Tarasenko in the slot proved decisive, with Tarasenko’s wrist shot beating Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger. “Bobby made a great pass, (to) draw three of the guys on the ice. … I tried to shoot as fast as I can, so I don’t start aiming,” Tarasenko said, according to NHL.com.

The Wild (40-19-12) now trail the Stars (43-15-11) by five points for second place in the Central Division. The Colorado Avalanche lead the division with a record of 45-13-10, three points ahead of Dallas.

Filip Gustavsson made 28 saves for Minnesota, who had previously lost five of their last seven games (2-3-2). The Wild recorded their League-leading 11th overtime win of the 2025-26 season, tying a franchise record set in 2021-22. Minnesota has played a League-leading 27 extra-time games this season, winning 15 of them. “We knew we had to play our best,” Gustavsson said. “Dallas is such a good team. We showed up and played a (heck) of a game.”

Jason Robertson scored the lone goal for Dallas and Jake Oettinger stopped 26 shots. The Stars had been on a strong run, going 16-1-2 in their previous 19 games, including a 2-1 shootout win against Colorado on Wednesday.

In overtime, Brink drew multiple defenders before passing to Tarasenko, who had space in the slot to shoot. The Wild are now 15-13 in overtime games this season.

The game also saw Minnesota honor Jared Spurgeon for playing in his 1,000th career NHL game prior to puck drop.

Both teams are considered potential playoff contenders, and the game offered a preview of a possible first-round postseason matchup. The Wild were without key players Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek, both sidelined with lower-body injuries.