Minnesota’s penalty kill was making small steps toward respectability over the past week, neutralizing 11 of 13 man advantages over its previous four games. Then it all came crashing down on Sunday.

Dallas scored on 5 of 8 power play chances, the most ever surrendered by the Wild in a single game, to hand Minnesota its third straight loss, 7-3, at Xcel Energy Center.

The Stars’ last two goals, both by Jason Robertson, came on the same man advantage after Brandon Duhaime was assessed a 5-minute boarding penalty with less than 2 minutes left in the second period.

Minnesota surrendered four power play goals in a 5-2 loss at San Jose on Jan. 30, 2010.

Duhaime, Vinni Lettieri and Mats Zuccarello scored goals for Minnesota, but the Stars generally skated circles around the Wild, opening a 1-0 lead on Joe Pavelski’s power play goal less than a minute into the game.

The Stars added a shorthanded goal by Radek Faksa to make it 2-0, then added goals by Matt Duchene, two from Wyatt Johnson and the two from Robertson — during a 5-minute boarding penalty on Duhaime — for a 7-3 lead just 3 minutes, 9 seconds into the third period.

Dallas ended the pain with its second short-handed goal, a breakaway by Johnson for an 8-3 lead with under 2 minutes to play.

The timing was particularly bad as Sunday’s game was Minnesota’s first against a Central Division opponent. The loss dropped them nine points behind first-place Dallas.

Marc-Andre Fleury, under constant duress, kept the Wild within spitting distance until the misconduct power play broke the dam. He stopped 29 shots, two of which were one-on-none breakaways. Dallas outshot Minnesota 10-1 in the first 11 minutes of the third period.

Jake Oettinger made 24 saves for Dallas

The Stars jumped on the Wild from the opening puck drop, winning the draw and mounting a long forecheck that resulted in an interference penalty on Duhaime at 50 seconds. Seven seconds later, Pavelski scored a power play goal from the crease to put Dallas up 1-0.

Dallas made it 2-0 when Radek Faksa scored unassisted on a Wild power play.

With Tyler Seguin causing havoc deep in the Wild zone, Marcus Johansson threw a quick cross-ice pass well behind Lettieri. It caromed off the wall past Lettieri, and Faksa corralled it, skated into the slot and beat Fleury left at 9:49.

Duhaime quickly got the Wild back in it with an unassisted, backhanded goal less than a minute later to make it 2-1 at 10:38, but the Stars answered even more quickly.

After winning the ensuing draw, Dallas’ Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment changed the puck into the right corner. Marchment came out with it and spotted Matt Duchene in the slot. Duchene one-timed his pass past Fleury for a 3-1 lead at 10:52.

Minnesota pulled within a goal at intermission when Jonas Brodin dug a puck out of the corner and started a rush the other way. Marco Rossi passed forward to a streaking Lettieri down the right boards and the fourth-line winger fired a wrist shot over Jake Dettinger’s shoulder to make it 3-2 with 48 seconds left in a busy first period.

Again, Dallas quickly answered, Wyatt Johnson scoring on a power play just 2:34 into the second period to make it 4-2, then adding to the lead when Evgeni Dadonov scored with 41 seconds left in another power play — the Stars’ third goal in four turns with an extra skater — to make it 5-2 at 12:11.
Zuccarello answered with a power play goal of his own, a wrist shot from the left circle that beat Oettinger cleanly to make it 5-3 with 4:01 left in the second period. That’s when Duhaime slammed Thomas Harley into the boards in the Dallas zone and was called for a 5-minute boarding penalty and given a game misconduct.

The Wild killed the first 1:46 of the penalty to keep their deficit at two goals headed into the third period, but Jason Robertson picked up a rebound off the backboard and sent it high over a falling Fleury to make it 6-3 just 1:02 into the period.