It seemed like the Dallas Stars had the Minnesota Wild just where they wanted them. Heading to a shootout for the third time out of four meetings between the clubs, Minnesota managed to outlast the Stars for a 2-1 victory Tuesday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

After goaltender Marty Turco's outstanding performance in which he made a season-high 38 saves to allow the Stars to reach the shootout, the usual Dallas magic failed to materialize as all three shooters were blanked by Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom.

After winning both previous shootouts against the Wild and all three prior contests this season, the Stars missed a chance to sweep the season series. They still earned a point in the standings, however, enabling them to tie the San Jose Sharks for second in the Pacific Division and fifth in the Western Conference. Minnesota, who began the night in eighth place in the West, the final playoff spot, leap-frogged Calgary for seventh and is just two back of Dallas and San Jose.

The Stars fell to 6-3 in the shootout this season and 18-4 since the tie-breaking formula was introduced last year. Their regular aces Sergei Zubov and Jussi Jokinen were denied by Backstrom and so was Mike Ribeiro on the final Dallas shot. Turco had turned aside attempts from Pavol Demitra and Brian Rolston, but the final shooter, Mikko Koivu scored his a backhander that ricocheted in off the post to win it for Minnesota.

"Marty kept us in the game and you have to give the Wild credit," said defenseman Stephane Robidas, who led the Stars with four blocked shots. "They created lots of chances and Koivu made a great move in the shootout. It's disappointing not getting the two points. Every time we play them, it's a tight game, a chess match."

Niklas Hagman scored the lone goal in the contest for the Stars. They were outshot 39-24 for the game and 30-13 after the first period, but Turco kept them in the game with numerous key saves. It was his second straight solid outing after a difficult stretch two weeks ago when he was pulled from two games in a row.

"Marty was very good tonight," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "We gave up a lot of shots but he kept us in it and gave us a chance to win. They had us on our heels a little bit in the second period and they are a desperate team scratching and clawing for points."

"It was a good, close game and it's disappointing to not get the two points," added Turco, who was named the second star of the game. "I felt good in net and I felt focused. It's about giving us a chance to win and we know we're going to see a lot of hockey like this the rest of the way. We are going to see desperate teams trying to move up, so we are in battle mode now. We have to stay with it and play as a team."

Tied 1-1 going into the third, Turco kept the Wild at bay with some impressive stops. He stopped Adam Hall's in-close backhander almost six minutes in, and then turned away Koivu's one-timer from the left circle a few minutes later.

Jere Lehtinen had the Stars' best chance to snap the deadlock in the third when his wicked wrist shot from the right circle with two minutes remaining deflected off Backstrom's shoulder and skimmed off the corner of the post and crossbar.

Turco then gloved Marian Gaborik's wrister from the slot with 1:22 to go to send the game to overtime.

After a frantic-paced, up-and-down OT with few whistles, the teams prepared for their third shootout of the season. The Wild had the best opportunity in the extra period, on Pierre-Marc Bouchard's wrist shot from the right circle that Turco knocked down with 50 seconds left.

"Marty was very good and as we get close to the stretch run, every game is going to be big so it's nice to see him getting his confidence," Hagman said.

After a scoreless first period, Turco was called upon to make a few big saves early in the second, denying Rolston on two separate occasions within the first two minutes, the first a point-blank one-timer in front and the second a long blast of a slap shot from the blue line. Rolston had a game-high seven shots on goal.

About 3:20 in, Turco made a stellar glove save on Hall's quick snap shot from the right face-off circle.

The Stars answered a minute later when Robidas clanged a slap shot from the blue line off the post. The puck rebounded out to Ribeiro next to Backstrom, but he shoveled it just wide of a gaping net.

Then six minutes into the second, Branko Radivojevic's slap shot from the right circle went through Turco's pads, but he got just enough of the puck to send it skimming past the post and wide.

Turco, who had 17 saves in the entire game in Sunday's 5-2 victory over San Jose, had 15 in the second period alone and made his 21st stop just past the midway point. He denied Minnesota's best chance of the period with eight minutes left, when Hall's pass from the left side was deflected by Todd White charging through the slot, and swallowed into Turco's mid-section.

After all the great saves he made, it was unfortunate that the one Turco finally gave up, he wasn't even in the net. With the Wild on a power play, Turco went behind the net to play a dump-in and Koivu stole it from him and slid a short pass out front that Rolston tapped into the vacated goal for a 1-0 lead at 18:20. It was Rolston's 26th of the year and 250th career goal.

"For every one blip that Marty has handling the puck, he has 200 good handles," Tippett said, forgiving Turco's one miscue.

The Stars responded on the very next shift to tie the game with 1:01 to go in the second. Jaroslav Modry partially blocked a Minnesota clearing pass along the boards that Jokinen picked up just inside the Wild blue line. Jokinen swept a quick pass in deep to Hagman just to the left of the net, and in one motion, Hagman deked around Backstrom and cut out front to deposit it in for his 13th goal.

"Backstrom is a buddy of mine and I've scored two goals on him the last two games," Hagman said of the Swedish netminder. "The puck was bouncing in and my only option was on the backhand."

As usually happens when these two clubs get together, the action was conservative and defensive-minded for most of the first period, but both sides picked up the pace, and scoring chances, as the period wore on.

Turco made a brilliant pad save on Koivu in close with about 8:45 left, while at the other end, about two minutes later, Backstrom's blocker save denied Darryl Sydor's slap shot from the blue line.

Turco again stymied Koivu with just under six minutes remaining in the first, blocking away his quick wrist shot from the slot on the rush.

With under three minutes left, rookie Joel Lundqvist sliced his way through the Minnesota defense, deked Backstrom out of the net, but was unable to get a good shot off as he was taken down.

The Stars, who just completed a five-game homestand on Sunday, return to the friendly confines of the American Airlines Center for two more, starting Friday night (7:30 pm, FSN) against Pacific Division-leading Anaheim, who lead Dallas by six points, pending the outcome of their game against Vancouver late Tuesday night. With an opportunity to gain some more ground in the race for the division title, it will be an important test for the Stars, who are 6-1-1 in their last eight home games.

STARGAZING

# Hagman's goal was his career-high 13th of the year, and gives him four points (two goals, two assists) in his last six contests.

# Jokinen's assist on Hagman's goal gives him six points (one goal, five assists) in his last six games.

# Modry now has assists in consecutive games for the first time this season, following a 13-game pointless drought.

# The Stars only had one power play the entire game and did not convert on it, snapping a stretch of five straight games with a man-advantage goal.

# Dallas ended Demitra's nine-game scoring streak, during which he'd piled up seven goals and 15 points. Gaborik's four-game goal-scoring streak also came to an end.

# Minnesota is now 10-4 in shootouts this year, and have an NHL-high 15 wins after regulation play.

# Turco entered the night 9-4-0 with an 1.85 goals-against average and one shutout in his 15 previous career outings against Minnesota.

# The goal by Rolston was the first by the Wild on the power play in the four-game season series, as the Stars killed off the first 13. Overall, the Dallas PK unit had successfully thwarted 32 of the previous 35 opposing power plays until the fluke goal.