DALLAS _ The details were different, like when, where and for how long, but the Minnesota Wild closed out this season exactly how it finished the previous one: mired in a scoring slump. And while that drought was a costly catalyst in the team's first-round playoff loss to the Jets just a year ago, a lack of offense was what prevented it from even advancing this spring _ a stubborn problem that was hard to miss after the Wild was blanked 3-0 by the Dallas Stars Saturday at American Airlines Center in the team's finale.
It wrapped up 2018-19 without scoring a goal in the final 124 minutes, 49 seconds, suffering back-to-back shutouts for the second time. Overall, it was the 11th time the Wild had been shut out.
Last year, the Wild was eliminated in Game 5 by Winnipeg amid a 141:37 dry spell.
Stars goalie Ben Bishop turned aside all 22 shots he faced, his seventh shutout in his final tune-up for the postseason.
At the other end, backup Alex Stalock was perfect until the Stars converted on the power play 2:44 into the third period _ a one-timer by center Tyler Seguin from inside the faceoff circle to Stalock's right.
Seguin added another at 8:55 when he backhanded the puck in from the top of the crease, and center Tyler Pitlick buried a third when he put back a rebound with 7:59 to go.
The Wild challenged the goal to take a closer look at potential goaltender interference since winger Roope Hintz crashed the crease before Pitlick's shot, but the initial call stood. That dropped the Wild to 5-for-11 in coach's challenges this season.
Dallas ended up going 1-for-3 with the man advantage, while the Wild was 0-for-2. The Wild concluded its road schedule at 21-18-2.
Stalock racked up 41 saves, including 14 in the first period, and he was even busier in the second.
The Stars threw 20 pucks on net in the middle frame, coming close to opening the scoring on a handful of occasions, but Stalock held his ground.
Bishop, who was making his return to the lineup after sitting out the previous four games with a lower-body injury, wasn't tested nearly as much. The Wild had only five shots in the second and while it did manage to put one puck behind him, the goal didn't count.
With 28 seconds remaining in the period, a Greg Pateryn wind-up from the point sailed by Bishop. Dallas challenged to determine if the play was off-side, and it was � with winger Jason Zucker's feet over the blue line before the puck.
The Wild's push in the third wasn't much better, and it had a similar vibe to what happened the last time these two teams met March 14.
In that game, Bishop stopped all seven shots that came his way before exiting the game near the halfway point with injury. The Stars still won 4-1.
That setback was one the Wild can bemoan in the lead-up to its eviction from the playoff race Tuesday, as it was part of a three-game slide that dropped the team from the second wild card position in the Western Conference _ a spot it regained briefly before again sliding down the standings for its first playoff miss in seven years.
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