At 17:22 of the third period, Matt Boldy sent a shot toward the Dallas net. Casey DeSmith stopped it, preserving Dallas’ 2-1 lead while the Wild continued to control the shot count.
That save became the clearest expression of DeSmith’s value in Friday’s preseason victory at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. The Stars needed their goaltender to protect a very small cushion, and the workload grew as Dallas’ own shooting slowed to almost nothing.
DeSmith finished with 26 saves on 27 shots. Minnesota produced 13 shots on goal in the third period to Dallas’ two, and DeSmith stopped every one that reached him. The imbalance does not require embellishment. Dallas spent the final period defending a one-goal advantage, and its goaltender handled the assignment.
The save inside the pressure
The third-period sequence had already included shots from Danila Yurov, Nick Foligno and Jared Spurgeon before Boldy’s attempt. Boldy then added a shot on goal at 7:37, and Minnesota continued to build its total through Maxim Shabanov, Jared Spurgeon, Blake Coleman, Michael McCarron and Kirill Kaprizov.
Dallas did not record its first third-period shot until Thomas Harley’s attempt at 11:47, followed three seconds later by Wyatt Johnston’s.
Almost half of Minnesota’s shots came in the third period. DeSmith faced seven in the first and seven in the second, then thirteen in the final frame. Dallas, meanwhile, went from nine second-period shots to two in the third. The goaltender’s workload was rising just as the Stars offered less chance of scoring again.
Twenty-five seconds later, Esa Lindell blocked a Kaprizov attempt with Minnesota using an extra skater and its net empty. The block mattered, particularly because it came with the Wild pressing for an equalizer. But the sequence also shows how Dallas survived: Lindell removed one threat, while DeSmith had already stopped the last shot on goal. No Minnesota shot on goal followed Boldy’s at 17:22.
The closing minutes became crowded with penalties. Harley and Boldy received fighting majors and misconducts at 18:44, leaving 1:16 on the clock. At 19:08, Justin Hryckowian took a roughing minor, while Hryckowian, Jamie Benn and Minnesota players also received fighting penalties.
Minnesota eventually had six skaters against four, but the Wild still did not add another shot on goal. DeSmith entered that final penalty kill having stopped every shot of the period. Dallas’ remaining skaters then kept another attempt from reaching him, preserving the advantage he had protected throughout the third.
