The Minnesota Wild face a challenging Game 6 against the Dallas Stars, aiming to end their season. Forward Nico Sturm emphasizes the difficulty of defeating a desperate team, while defenseman Brock Faber highlights the importance of emotional control.
As he prepared to slot into the home lineup for Game 6 on Thursday, Minnesota forward Nico Sturm could reflect back on his two previous deep playoff runs and know that ahead of him was the toughest game he would encounter, so far, in his second stint with the Wild.
“The hardest thing to do in sports is to end a team’s season that’s desperate,” said Sturm, who owns Stanley Cup rings from the Colorado Avalanche’s 2022 title run and from his time with the Florida Panthers last season. “So, I think that’s the biggest mindset going into tonight.”
The Wild entered Thursday night’s game with a 1-0 all-time record in Game 6 of a series they led 3-2. They notched a decisive 4-1 win over the Blues — who had a young forward named Vladimir Tarasenko on the roster then — in 2015, which is the last time Minnesota had advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs.
In the happy but subdued Wild locker room following the Game 5 win in Dallas, defenseman Brock Faber noted that he might have been in the audience in St. Paul that day. He was 12 years old at the time.
“I’d play tomorrow if we could,” Faber said on Tuesday night, noting that, as much as they embrace the support of the crowds at Grand Casino Arena, keeping your wits about you and your emotions in check is vital. “It’s gonna be fun. We’ve gotta be ready to compete. We’ve gotta control our emotions. Sometimes when it gets loud like that, you’re kind of running all over. Try and stay poised and feed off it.”
For Wild coach John Hynes, the franchise’s decade-plus stretch without a playoff series win and the overall tortured history of Minnesota men’s sports were of absolutely no concern or focus as he prepared his team. Whether it’s Game 1 or Game 7, concentrating on the 60 minutes of hockey in the immediate future is the message.
“The circumstances around the game don’t do us any good if that’s where our focus is,” Hynes said on Thursday morning, when asked about the bigger picture. “The focus has to be on making sure that we’re executing the game, and we’re focused on playing the game and doing the things that we need to do to win the game. Whenever you focus on things that are out of your control or don’t really have any impact on your performance, then it’s kind of wasted energy.”
Game 6 is crucial for the Minnesota Wild as they aim to eliminate the Dallas Stars and advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs.
Nico Sturm has two Stanley Cup rings from his time with the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers, showcasing his experience in deep playoff runs.
The Wild have a 1-0 all-time record in Game 6 when leading a series 3-2, with their last win in this scenario occurring in 2015 against the Blues.
Players like Nico Sturm stress the importance of maintaining composure and controlling emotions, especially when facing a desperate opponent.
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Along with Sturm returning to the lineup in place of Bobby Brink on Thursday, the unavailability of veteran defenseman Jonas Brodin meant that Jeff Petry was set to make his playoff debut for the Wild. It’s his first postseason game since 2021, when he was a part of Montreal’s unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Final. But having viewed the series’ first five games from the pressboxes in St. Paul and Dallas, he said there is plenty that can be learned from that vantage point.
“Watching the game upstairs, you learn a lot and you see a lot from up there,” said Petry, 38, who was acquired from Florida at the trade deadline and played nine regular season games for Minnesota. “It looks different, but I think you see the way we want to play from a bird’s eye view, and then you also see their tendencies, their style, so it helps you prepare for the chance when you do get the opportunity.”
Having taken a lead in the series, twice now, the Wild went into Thursday’s game with two chances to end the Stars’ season, and knowing the best way to do so was to block out all of the noise and the hype and get to work on home ice.