Seconds after Zach Parise calmly deposited the puck into Dallas’s vacated net to close out Thursday’s game, Tyler Seguin took a mighty swing with his stick and broke it across the goal post. The breaking of the stick was somewhat symbolic of the current situation in Dallas, as Minnesota’s victory over the Stars on Thursday night snapped pretty much any remaining hope of a postseason appearance for that club. It also apparently pushed the team’s frustration level to its apex.
Though the Wild got out to a bit of a slow start Thursday, conceding the game’s opening goal just a couple minutes into the first frame, the contest completely turned after a beautiful shorthanded tally by Mikael Granlund.