Dallas Stars held on for a 5-4 win over the Wild



Jason Robertson scored his 42nd goal with 9:25 left and the Dallas Stars held on for a 5-4 win over the Minnesota Wild in a physical and entertaining preview of the upcoming playoff series between the Central Division foes.

Wyatt Johnston, Mikko Rantanen and Colin Blackwell each had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who now at 106 points are four ahead of Minnesota. They were already locked in as first-round opponents, but both still have three regular-season games left to determine home-ice advantage.

Kirill Kaprizov had two of Minnesota’s three power-play goals, giving him 45 goals overall and matching his single-season franchise record at 19 power-play goals. Mats Zuccarello had three assists.

But the Wild had their four-game winning streak snapped in an uncharacteristic way. It was their first regulation loss since March 2024 when leading going into the third period — 61-0-4 in that span.

Minnesota had another power-play chance after Rantanen’s slashing penalty with 2 1/2 minutes left, but failed to score even with an extra skater after pulling Filip Gustavsson out of the net.

Stars goalie Jake Oettinger had 27 saves. Gustavsson stopped 15 shots.

Johnston’s 44th goal with 4:26 left in the first made it 1-0, and was the only Dallas lead until Robertson scored. Rantanen had the tying goal in the third.

Kaprizov put the Wild up 2-1 with 16 seconds left in the first, then extended that to 3-1 on another power-play goal at the 6:39 mark of the second. Blackwell scored and then assisted on Cameron Hughes’ first career goal for Dallas before Ryan Hartman’s power-play goal with 9 seconds left in the second put Minnesota up 4-3.

Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen never returned after being knocked hard into the boards by Hartman late in the first period. Before that, Heiskanen had hit the puck that deflected off the stick of Joel Ericksson Ek into the face of the Minnesota center who left the ice and also didn’t return the game.

Wild: Play the second of three consecutive road games Saturday at Nashville, which is trying to stay in a playoff spot in the West.

Stars: Play their home finale Saturday against the New York Rangers, the last-place team in the Eastern Conference.



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A Republican lawmaker charged in an alcohol-related driving offense won’t have to appear in court again until after the Legislature adjourns for the year.

A June 10 arraignment hearing is set for Rep. Elliott Engen, a Lino Lakes Republican who faces three misdemeanor charges following an arrest early Friday. He was stopped for speeding and other infractions in White Bear Lake; officers detected alcohol and he later tested well above the legal limit for driving, according to a citation.

Engen has apologized for a lapse in judgment; he promised to learn from his actions and “do better.” Aside from being a second-term legislator, he is also a candidate for state auditor.

A second lawmaker, GOP Rep. Walter Hudson, was in Engen’s truck at the time of the stop and an open bottle of alcohol was found in a rear seat. Hudson, a second-term legislator from Albertville, was in possession of a permitted handgun, which could cause him legal problems if he is determined to have been intoxicated.

Police officers wrote in their report that Hudson disclosed he had the gun as the truck was being searched. The report said police took the firearm for safekeeping and said he could pick it up at a later time, which Hudson agreed to.

“I regret the poor decisions that were made during this incident, and commend the White Bear Police Department for their professional response,” Hudson said in a written statement. “I’m grateful that no harm was done to ourselves and others.”

Two lawmakers stand and look around
Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, (center) and Rep. Bidal Duran, R-Bemidji, (right) join other Republican lawmakers gather in the House chambers Jan. 27, 2025.
Tim Evans for MPR News file

A third, unidentified passenger was in the truck as well, according to police. Hudson and that person were transferred to the police department until they could arrange rides.

The Minnesota lawmakers had been at the Capitol late into the evening Thursday as the House debated procedural motions on gun, immigration and social media legislation. The motions failed on 67-67 votes.

There is no indication yet that either Hudson nor Engen had been drinking on Capitol grounds, which would be a violation of a House rule against consumption of alcohol or drugs in spaces under that chamber’s control.

According to a White Bear Lake Police report, Engen initially said he had not been drinking when asked by the police officer who pulled him over — “nothing at all,” he is quoted as saying. He performed a field sobriety test, which the report says showed signs of impairment.

Engen gave a preliminary breath sample there, the report says, which estimated a 0.142 blood alcohol level. After he was taken by squad car to the police department “Engen spontaneously stated, ‘Sir, I had a drink three hours ago,’” the report says.

He told the Minnesota Star Tribune in an interview Monday that he had also consumed alcohol in the afternoon on Thursday as well.

Engen is charged with two impaired driving offenses and speeding. White Bear Lake police also said he was driving a vehicle with expired registration and an inoperable headlight.

Engen has not returned calls from MPR News. A court docket lists a “notice of appearance” on Tuesday.

He is being represented in the criminal case by Chris Madel, an Excelsior attorney who waged a brief Republican campaign for governor.



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