Factor in how the team limited Dallas to one goal after the Stars scored seven in each of their past two wins, and the Wild’s performance in their own end was a silver lining — particularly since they were without Jonas Brodin, who missed a second straight game with an upper-body injury.
Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson staved off 14 shots from the Stars before Marchment redirected in an Ilya Lyubushkin wind-up with 1:17 left in the first period.
Gustavsson remained steady, finishing with 38 saves after Marchment doubled Dallas’ lead by burying a puck in front of the crease at 11:24 of the third period, and the penalty kill denied the Stars’ lone power play to go 16-for-16 over the past five games. But the Wild applying only lackluster pressure at the other end of the rink until the third made a comeback difficult.
All four lines, not just the first, were tweaked.
Michael Milne made his NHL debut in front of his parents, Deryn and Jerry, and girlfriend, Madison, after accompanying the team on its last road trip but never playing.
“Saturday night. State of Hockey. Couldn’t ask for much more,” said Milne, who was drafted by the Wild in the third round in 2022.
