ST. PAUL, Minn. _ The Wild have yet to clinch a playoff spot, but they've made their path to the postseason a little easier.
By holding off the Stars 5-2 Thursday in front of a season-high 19,350 at Xcel Energy Center, the Wild ensured their Central Division rival can't catch them in the standings _ getting one step closer to locking down a berth amid an effort that flattered more than a few.
Defenseman Matt Dumba scored and added three assists for a career-high four-point showing, while fellow blue liner Ryan Suter notched two assists to break two of his own records. Winger Mikael Granlund had a goal and two assists, winger Jason Zucker helped set up a goal and buried another. And winger Zach Parise extended his point streak to five games with the game-winner and an insurance goal _ all this along with 29 saves by goalie Devan Dubnyk.
Stuck at 86 points with four games to go, the Stars can't match the Wild's current total of 96. The Avalanche are still within striking distance, but they have to close a six-point gap with five games to go.
Cognizant of what was at stake for the Stars, the Wild expected a top-notch push by a desperate group. And that's how Dallas started.
Just 2 minutes, 51 seconds after puck drop, the Stars scored when captain Jamie Benn one-timed the puck by Dubnyk.
Dallas had a glorious chance to increase that lead when it was awarded a four-minute power play after Wild defenseman Ryan Murphy caught winger Antoine Roussel with a high stick that drew blood.
But instead of the Stars pulling away, the Wild captured the momentum.
Only 12 seconds into its penalty kill, the team broke out for a two-on-one with Granlund keeping the shot and wiring it by goalie Kari Lehtonen at 16:02 for Granlund's 20th of the season and the Wild's sixth short-handed goal.
Not only did the Wild tie it while down a man, but they also prevented the Stars from even generating a shot on goal during their power play _ an admirable job that seemed to flip the game in their favor.
On their first power-play look, the Wild moved ahead at 7:19 when Dumba's rising one-timer went over Lehtonen for his 12th goal of the season, a career high.
Suter's helper on the goal was his second of the game and 45th of the season, resetting his career high and the team's franchise record by a defenseman in a season after breaking those records (which he owned) on his previous assist. The two-point effort also tied his career-best point total and the top output for a defenseman in team history at 51.
Only 59 seconds after Dumba's goal, the Wild capitalized again after Parise redirected a Granlund pass in for his 11th of the season.
The Stars had a response for that, with a tip by center Devin Shore at 9:42 putting Dallas within a goal with more than half the game remaining.
But the comeback took a hit with 11 seconds left in the second after Zucker one-timed the puck inside the near post on the power play. The Wild finished 2-for-3 with the man advantage, while Dallas was 0-for-4. Lehtonen made 17 saves.
Parise added an empty-netter with 17 seconds to go.
What made the Wild's performance even more impressive is the team ended the game shorthanded, as defenseman Gustav Olofsson left in the second period and didn't return.
