How to live stream Wild vs Stars: NHL Playoffs, TV channel

The Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars open their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series Saturday night in Dallas, with the Stars holding home ice in a Central Division matchup that was locked in before the regular season even ended.

MORE: 5 first-round bold predictions for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs

How to Watch Wild vs Stars

• When: Saturday, April 18, 2026
• Time: 5:30 PM ET
• TV Channel: ESPN
• Live Stream: Fubo (try for free)

Dallas finished the regular season 50-20-12 (112 points), while Minnesota went 46-24-12 (104 points). Game 1 is set for Saturday at American Airlines Center.

The Stars also come in hot after closing the regular season on a five-game winning streak, including a 4-3 shootout win over Buffalo in the finale.

The first-round pairing had effectively been looming for months, and Dallas beat Minnesota 5-4 in that April 9 meeting. The Stars were 10-1-6 in their previous 17 regular-season games against the Wild and had already eliminated Minnesota in six games in the 2023 first round.

– Live Stream Wild vs Stars with Fubo –

The headliners are easy to spot. Kirill Kaprizov led Minnesota with 45 goals and 89 points, while Jason Robertson matched the 45 goals and paced Dallas with 96 points. Team-wise, Dallas carried the better statistical profile over 82 games, averaging 3.33 goals per game and allowing 2.71, compared with Minnesota’s 3.27 goals per game and 2.87 goals against per game.