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BOX SCORE
DALLAS (AP) -- Manny Fernandez put more stock in beating one of
the NHL's premier teams than in earning a victory against his
former team.
|  | | Manny Fernandez is 2-0 against his former team as a starter for the Wild. The Stars traded Fernandez to Minnesota before the expansion draft. |
Fernandez made 28 saves and rookie Marian Gaborik scored the
game-winning goal late in the second period as Minnesota beat
Dallas 2-1 Friday night. The victory was the Wild's second of the
season against the Stars.
"It's not a game against Dallas; it's a game against one of the
top teams in the league," said Fernandez, who played in 24 games
as a backup with the Stars last season. "To beat them for that
reason is good. It's nice to play Dallas like it's nice to play Detroit and win twice."
Fernandez has been the top player for the expansion Wild, improving to 17-12-2 with Friday night's victory.
"Hockey-wise we weren't that great tonight, but effort-wise we
were," said Minnesota coach Jacques Lemaire. "We need to win
against teams like Dallas and you need to have goaltending to do
that. Manny gives us that."
Fernandez, traded to the Wild by the Stars last summer prior to
the expansion draft, was under fire in the second period as Dallas
outshot Minnesota 15-3.
But Grant Marshall was the only Star to beat Fernandez in the
period.
"The opportunities were there," said Marshall. "But we were
playing non-confrontational and got outplayed in all aspects of the
game ... And we know Manny can play. He's playing with a lot of
confidence. We had to get in his face and we didn't do that."
Marshall returned to the Dallas lineup after sustaining a
concussion on Feb. 1. Marshall, who missed only one game after
being knocked unconscious on a hit from behind by San Jose's Owen
Nolan, scored on a slap shot from the right circle at 2:49 to tie
the game at 1.
Gaborik broke a 1-1 tie at 16:21 of the second period, skating
in on a breakaway and lifting the puck over Stars rookie goaltender
Marty Turco.
Turco, Dallas' backup, made nine saves in place of usual starter
Ed Belfour, who was given the night off.
The Wild went into a defensive shell in the third period,
limiting the Stars' chances.
"They play a simple style and teams get frustrated," Stars
center Mike Modano said. "We knew it would be a 2-1 game, we just
didn't know who'd have the two."
The Wild handed the Stars a 6-0 defeat in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 17 in St. Paul behind Fernandez's 24-save performance. The Stars played in Minnesota until 1993 when the franchise moved to Dallas.
Modano could sense that Fernandez was motivated to beat his
former team.
"Manny has a bitter taste when he plays against us," said Modano. "He was in the shadow of our team last year and now he's the No. 1 guy. He's making the most of it."
The Stars outshot the Wild 11-5 in the first period, but
Minnesota charged to a lead when Jim Dowd scored at 9:51. Dowd's
shot from low in the right circle went in off Turco's right pad.
Game notes
The Stars activated defenseman Richard Matvichuk off injured reserve and sent rookie defenseman Richard Jackman to their International League farm team in Utah. Matvichuk broke his jaw on Jan. 24 when he was hit in the face by a puck during a game against the New Jersey Devils. He is playing with a protective facemask. ... Minnesota is 4-2-0 in its last six games.
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NHL Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Dallas Clubhouse
RECAPS
Atlanta 5
Boston 1
Philadelphia 5
NY Islanders 2
NY Rangers 4
Florida 2
Minnesota 2
Dallas 1
Calgary 5
Colorado 3
Phoenix 2
Edmonton 0
Washington 4
Anaheim 3
FROM
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