Minnesota Wild Beat Up Stars in Preseason Finale; 3rd Period Chaos Ensues

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NHL: Preseason-Dallas Stars at Minnesota Wild
Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Wild entered the 2023-24 preseason finale with 2022-23 postseason revenge on their minds, and delivered with a 4-0 beatdown on the Dallas Stars Saturday night.

Filip Gustavsson notched a shutout in his final warmup before the regular season begins on Thursday. Kirill Kaprizov potted a goal early in the 3rd and Mats Zuccarello notched two impressive assists. Oh, and Ryan Hartman got a postgame contract extension.

Related: Dean Evason Hot Seat Check: 6 Questions for Minnesota Wild Entering 2023-24

Minnesota Wild strong preseason overshadowed by 3rd period chaos

But things started to unravel on the ice, after Marco Rossi’s goal a bit later in the period, when Pat Maroon and Jamie Benn went toe-to-toe on the ensuing face-off.

Clearly, the Wild used this preseason game, not only to get their minds right for the regular season, but to exact revenge on a divisional rival who they lost an intense playoff series to last season.

And the crowd at the Xcel Energy Center was no different. When Benn was in the penalty box, after his fight with Maroon, a fan threw popcorn on his head and he lost his mind.

Brandon Duhaime vs Mason Marchment

If there was any question about their intent entering the final period, Brandon Duhaime put an end to that when he went begging for a fight with Mason Marchment, that he eventually got. When the dust settled on the scrum, Marchment got a 10-minute game misconduct and Duhaime got a 2-5-10 for instigating it.

Minnesota finishes their preseason 5-1-0 and, as noted earlier, will drop the puck on their regular season, Thursday, when they play the Florida Panthers in St. Paul.

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Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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