NHL Playoffs: What channel is Stars vs. Wild Game 1 on?

Here is where you can watch the Game 1 of the NHL playoffs first round series between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild.

The Minnesota Wild, the second wild card from the Western Conference, faces the Dallas Stars tonight at Dallas’ American Airlines Center for Game 1 of their series in the NHL playoffs.

This is the actually the first time both teams have faced one another in the playoffs. In 2011 the Wild beat the Stars in their final regular season game, preventing Dallas from making the playoffs. The Stars made the postseason once in the past seven years, so several of their key players, including top scorer Jamie Benn and No. 1 defenseman John Klingberg, have little—or no—playoff experience.

Minnesota had a ghastly stretch from January through mid-February, winning only three games. Consequently, the team left go of coach Mike Yeo and hired John Torchetti as their interim coach. With Torchetti behind the bench, Minnesota went 15-11-1 to actually the playoffs.

Dallas, meanwhile, shows no signs of slowing down in the postseason under the leadership of coach Lindy Ruff. Benn and Jason Spezza will be sure to put several pucks in the net during the series, assisted by Patrick Sharp and Cody Eakin. Game 1 may or may not include the long-awaited return of forward Tyler Seguin to the rink.

The Stars (50-23-9, 109 points) finished 22 points ahead of the Wild (38-33-11, 87 points), but a four-game sweep is not guaranteed. Each team won a game in regulation: Minnesota 2-1 on Jan. 9 and Dallas 6-3 on Dec. 21. The other three were overtime victories favoring the Stars.

The core of Minnesota has moved on in the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, even advancing to the second round in each of the past two (before losing to the Chicago Blackhawks each time). Will this year-end that streak?

Wild hopes to break their unlucky postseason history at 9:30 pm ET tonight at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The game will be aired on NBC Sports Network and can also be streamed live on NBC Sports Live Extra.

For more coverage of the NHL Playoffs, make sure to check out our NHL hub page.