ST. PAUL, Minn. – Marty Turco's stiff neck meant the Stars needed backup goalie Mike Smith to stiffen up against the Wild on Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

And the lanky 25-year-old delivered, playing one of the best games of his career, leading the Stars to an entertaining 1-0 win.

Smith hadn't played since Jan. 22 and was desperate to show he could get the job done against a tough opponent.

If not for a hard elbow to the head Tuesday against Vancouver, Turco probably would have played Thursday against Minnesota, the Northwest Division's top team.

But the Stars' starting goalie, 4-0 since the All-Star break, stayed in Dallas to rest. Smith filled in nicely, using his 6-3 frame to stop 25 shots for his second shutout of the season.

Smith's biggest save helped the Stars get the go-ahead goal a little more than three minutes into the final period. Smith stuck out his long right leg to block an uncontested shot at the side of the net by Marian Gaborik, a deft scorer who normally doesn't miss such opportunities.

"I don't do the splits very often," Smith said. "I'm not sure my groin will like that too much in the morning."

The puck bounded off Smith's pad, and a few quick passes later, Niklas Hagman made a nice move on Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom, slowing down just enough to get him out of position for a backhanded shot. It was Hagman's 20th goal, marking the first time in his career he's reached that plateau.

The goal silenced most of the 18,568 spectators, with Stars co-general manager Brett Hull the one exception. He jumped out of his seat, yelled and pumped his fist even before the red light came on. Then he watched Smith make the lead stand up the final three-quarters of the period.

"The main thing is I wanted to come in here and give the team a chance," Smith said. "I wanted to come in and stabilize the team like Marty's done the last four games. He's played well and stolen some wins for the team. That's what we've got to do right now."

Smith's great game was critical as the Stars missed numerous chances to take the lead in the first two periods. Backstrom was nearly as good as Smith, helping Minnesota build momentum while killing off penalties.

AP

Dallas Stars goalie Mike Smith reaches to glove a wide shot in front of Minnesota's Pierre-Marc Bouchard.

Dallas had a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:07 of the first period but couldn't do much with it. When Mattias Norstrom was hit in the face and bleeding from a high stick in the second period, the Stars got a four-minute power play. Dallas, 0-for-6 on the power play, kept the puck in the Wild zone, but Minnesota's penalty killers blocked shots and got out of the way so Backstrom could make a few saves.

"You're concerned that you're going to have a letdown, and that penalties are going to even out," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "So you change your aggressiveness so that you don't have to start killing penalties. We weren't successful on the power play, but you have to find other ways to win."

And the Stars keep doing that right now. Dallas is 5-0 since the All-Star break and has won five consecutive road games. The Stars continue to pile on points in an effort to stay on top of the Pacific Division and in front of San Jose, which has five games in hand.