(My Sportsbook) - The Minnesota Wild continued their impressive start with a 3-1 victory over the red-hot Dallas Stars Thursday night in front of close to 19,000 fans at the Xcel Energy Center.

"This was our best game," captain Brad Bombardir said. "We were up against a great hockey club tonight, and we performed as well as we could for 2 1/2 periods."

Marian Gaborik tallied a pair of goals and Manny Fernandez stopped 33 shots, as Minnesota improved to 3-0-1 to start the year. Last season the Wild raced out to a 3-0-3 beginning, only to finish 26-35-12-9, and in 12th place in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.

Minnesota will have another chance to knock off a conference powerhouse on Saturday when the defending Stanley Cup-champion Detroit Red Wings come to town.

"Tonight, we had a great test and we passed it," Bombardir said. "Now we have a huge test against Detroit. It will be a great challenge."

Gaborik, who netted his first two goals of the season, scored in each of the first two periods to give the Wild a 2-0 advantage late in the second. The Stars then pulled within a goal, but after a tremendous save by Fernandez on Mike Modano, Bill Muckalt added an empty-netter to seal the win.

"This was the toughest game I had so far," Fernandez said. "I used to play for them so I knew what was being said in that locker room before the third period when they were down 2-0. I knew they would come out hard."

Fernandez, who played with the Stars from 1994 to 2000, joined Minnesota for its opening season and went 19-17-4 with a .920 save percentage that ranked sixth in the NHL.

Last year, he dipped to 12-24-5 and saw his goals-against average balloon to 3.05. However, he's now 3-0 with just three goals allowed for the Wild, who are tied with the Stars for most points (7) in the Western Conference.

"You need great goaltending to beat a great hockey team," Bombardir said. "Manny gave us that."

WHAT'S AHEAD

The Wild will put the finishing touches on a four-game homestand after visits from the Red Wings and Calgary Flames, then embark on a three-game road trip that includes stops in Chicago, Phoenix and Colorado.