MINNEAPOLIS — The Wild didn't make history.
They repeated it.
Despite outplaying the Stars and owning the better chances, the Wild were denied their first ever 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series with a 3-2 win by Dallas on Sunday at Xcel Energy Center that evened the series 2-2.
Game 5 is back in Dallas on Tuesday.
Lakeville goalie Jake Oettinger was solid, picking up 33 saves, while a Tyler Seguin power play goal
The Wild have never led 3-1 in a best-of-seven, this their fourth try.
They most recently crumpled last year, a Game 4 loss to St. Louis the turning point in a series that the Blues would run away with in six games. The Wild talked about learning from the situation and although they were aggressive, their execution was off and that left the door wide open for the Stars.
After weathering Dallas' start, which included two shots that hit the post, the Wild cracked down on the Stars' offensive opportunities and began to test Oettinger with a barrage of quality looks.
There was a 2-on-1 break for Ryan Hartman and Kirill Kaprizov that stayed out and a breakaway for Marcus Foligno that resulted in two shots, but Oettinger got in front of both attempts.
Next up was a Kaprizov breakaway, and that also didn't fool Oettinger.
The Wild power play had zone time, too, but struggled to find a rhythm.
Then after Foligno was whistled for interference behind the net, a call he protested, Dallas pounced.
Filip Gustavsson, making a second consecutive start, stopped Roope Hintz's shot through traffic, but Seguin got on the end of the rebound to direct it five-hole on Gustavsson. Dallas finished 2-for-3 on the power play; of the Stars' 13 goals in Round 1, just five have come at 5-on-5.
Early in the third period, the Wild power play received another do-over but again whiffed.
To make matters worse for the Wild, Evgenii Dadonov scored after he was done serving the interference penalty, his wrister from between the circles eluding Gustavsson (21 saves).
The Wild didn't retreat; after a goal-line save by John Klingberg, the defenseman went the other way and flung a shot by Oettinger's blocker at 5:58 to spoil Oettinger's shutout bid.
But their deficit swelled after Seguin scored again on the power play with 3:31 remaining to double the Stars' lead.
That became the game-winning goal because with 1:20 left in the third period, Frederick Gaudreau converted on the power play (1-for-4).
