3 major takeaways from Minnesota Wild's loss in preseason game vs Dallas Stars

The Minnesota Wild fell back to the .500 mark through four games of exhibition play in 2024, dropping a 4-2 decision at the Xcel Energy Center on Sunday night against the visiting Dallas Stars.

The Wild are now 2-2 in exhibition play, while the Stars improved to a perfect 5-0. The Stars would take a 3-0 lead, thanks to one tally from Arttu Hyry and two from Logan Stankhoven before the Wild got on the scoreboard, thanks to Frederick Gaudreau.

Seconds later, the Wild cut the Stars' lead to just one goal, thanks to Travis Boyd. However, the Stars would seal the victory, thanks to Colin Blackwell's empty-net goal.

Casey DeSmith made 13 saves on the 15 Wild shots he faced, while Jesper Wallstedt made 25 saves on all 25 shots he faced. Here are three major takeaways from the game:

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#1 The Wild are still looking for their identity

The Wild haven't advanced past the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2015 and also failed to qualify for the postseason last season.

After making minimal changes during the offseason, coach John Hynes - who replaced the terminated Dean Evason last seaso - said that his team is still trying to find their identity halfway through exhibition play.

"Just continue to build our game and implement, building layers of things we've implemented already in terms of structure and tactics," he explained. "We'll probably zone in on some combinations and get special teams dialed in more now that there's a small group."

"So that's what we're looking for, we have another week of training camp, and that's the focus. Keep pushing ourselves in the way we practice and the way we instill the identity we're trying to play with, along with the tactical structure."

#2 The Stars handled a mostly prospect-filled Wild lineup

Before Sunday's game, the Wild made a handful of roster cuts while leaving several prospects in the mix to earn a full-time spot in the lineup.

Several notable names were absent from the ice, including Kirill Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman, Jonas Brodin, Matt Boldy, Brock Faber and Joel Eriksson-Ek. However, the Wild skated a top line of regulars Marcus Johansson, Marco Rossi and Gaudreau.

A 5-0 setback wasn't quite a surprising result, but it provided experience for a handful of bubble players.

#3 Travis Boyd is energized with his new team

One of a handful of new players the Wild brought in over the summer, Boyd tallied a goal and said afterward that he's focused on keeping a positive attitude and to live in the moment.

"I'm just trying to stay patient and keep a positive attitude, not beat myself up too much if there's a play or two that I don't do what I was hoping or feel that I could have made a better play," he said. "Just trying to get better every day."

Boyd was a member of the Arizona Coyotes last year and missed most of the season after a serious pectoral injury.