Minnesota vs. Dallas: 5th Place Game at the 2011 NHL Prospects Tournament

 

Despite a reasonably strong effort in trying to defend last year's tournament title, the Minnesota Wild finished round-robin play at the 2011 NHL Prospects Tournament 1-2-0 (good for 3rd in the Howe Division), and were slated to face-off against the Dallas Stars, who matched Minnesota's 1-2-0 for 3rd place in the Gretzky Division.  The two Western Conference foes faced off for 5th place in this year's tournament.  The Wild would do so without a pair of first-round draft picks, center Zack Phillips (2011) and defenseman Tyler Cuma (2008), who were scratches for the contest (no word on if either scratch was due to injury).

Dallas vs. New York: Day 2 at the 2011 NHL Prospects Tournament

 

The New York Rangers and the Dallas Stars knew heading into this evening’s clash that the winner would be on the fast track to Wednesday’s championship tilt in the 2011 NHL Prospects Tournament. Each team certainly wanted to feed off the strong start both squads had in their opening games yesterday. The Stars jumped on Carolina early and often in an easy 8-2 win, while the Rangers were fueled by strong special teams in a 5-2 victory over St. Louis.