Wild vs. Stars Game 6: Quinn Hughes scores 2, Minnesota advances to 2nd round

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksPlayoff bracketStanley Cup tiersNHL Draft rankingRed Light NewsletterNHL Playoffs Quinn Hughes celebrates after his first goal on Thursday opened the scoring. David Berding / Getty Images Share article10ST. PAUL, Minn. — While some contend that jinxes aren’t real, good omens definitely are. Twelve years to the day after Nino Niederreiter’s Game 7 overtime winner in Denver gave the Minnesota Wild their first playoff series win in 11 years, the Wild advanced past the first round for the first time in … 11 years on Thursday night, rallying to eliminate the Dallas Stars in six games with a 5-2 win. After eight consecutive first-round exits, the Wild will get to play past Round 1 for the first time since beating the St. Louis Blues in the 2015 Western Conference quarterfinal. Waiting in the wings are the Colorado Avalanche, the NHL’s best team from start to finish this season. The Wild went 2-1-1 against them during the regular season, with each team winning once in regulation and each team winning once in a shootout. Fittingly, in a season in which things were largely supposed to be different because of the winter’s blockbuster trade for a superstar defenseman, it was Quinn Hughes who scored two humongous goals in the victory. Hughes’ game-winner came with 9:22 left when his shot toward the net ricocheted in off defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin’s right skate. Hughes also assisted on Vladimir Tarasenko’s goal, which came as an answer just 54 seconds after Mavrik Bourque’s goal had given the Stars a lead in the second. It was Tarasenko’s 50th career playoff goal. The game ended fittingly, with two Matt Boldy empty-netters — the first after Jamie Benn, who earlier in the series slew-footed and cross-checked Boldy in the head, coughed it up. Jesper Wallstedt made 22 saves to become the first rookie goalie in Wild history to win a playoff round. The loss ends Dallas’ season after three consecutive trips to the conference final. The finale of an evenly matched series was a tight-checking, physical affair, with Minnesota once again doing a masterful job defending the Stars at even strength. The Wild outscored the Stars 14-4 at five-on-five in six games. The Avs will be another animal, with the star power of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Martin Necas. And the Wild look like they could be without stalwart defenseman Jonas Brodin for a bit. But this was one impressive series win against the regular-season’s third-best team with 112 points. The Wild will head into the second round soaring with confidence. With Grand Casino Arena coming off one loud pregame festivity culminated by future Hall of Famer and former Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury doing the “Let’s Play Hockey,” the Wild flew out of the gates and jumped out to a 1-0 lead, sparked by the fourth line. Hughes, who entered the game with a playoff-high 47 stretch passes completed, took Nico Sturm’s pass on Minnesota’s end of the ice and headmanned it to Marcus Foligno at the far blue line. Foligno entered the zone and gave the puck back to Hughes as the trailer. The all-world defenseman toe-dragged to the middle of the ice, created a shooting lane and wristed it home for his first goal of the playoffs. The last Wild defenseman to score in a potential series-clinching game was Jared Spurgeon when he scored the overtime-forcing goal in Minnesota’s 2014 Game 7 win against Colorado. The Wild could have made it 2-0 a few minutes later, but after Sturm set Foligno open for a wide-open net, Foligno seemed to freeze and got too cute, cutting to the middle on his backhand rather than elevating the puck into a yawning cage. Jake Oettinger was able to cut the chance off. That loomed large when Wyatt Johnston and Bourque scored in the second to give the Stars a 2-1 lead. Bourque’s goal was the first by a Stars player not named Johnston, Jason Robertson, Matt Duchene, Mikko Rantanen or Miro Heiskanen in the series and snapped the Stars’ five-on-five goal drought at 254 minutes, 1 second. Just three minutes into the second period, with the Wild already up 1-0, they had a golden opportunity to take control of the game. Minnesota got a power play, thanks to a Duchene cross-checking penalty. But the ensuing man advantage was one of the worst by the Wild in recent memory. No shots on goal, no whiffs of a quality scoring chance. They had a hard time even entering the zone and getting set up. As a result, the Stars got some much-needed momentum. And when Dallas went on the power play a couple minutes later, they wasted little time taking advantage. Johnston was in his office in the slot, and, despite being covered by Zach Bogosian, finished a feed from Rantanen to tie the game. The Stars were 10-for-24 on the power play in the series. The Wild were 4-for-24, including 0-for-3 in Game 6. The Stars have four forwards who have scored at least 40 goals in a season, so it wasn’t exactly ideal that they were looking to Michael Bunting to save their season. But with the five-on-five offense nonexistent and defensive-minded third-line center Arttu Hyry injured, Bunting — acquired at the trade deadline from the Nashville Predators — finally got into the Dallas lineup. Coach Glen Gulutzan loaded up his third line with nastiness, putting Bunting with captain Benn and Justin Hryckowian. “He’s a very energetic player, he’s got a nose for the net and he provides us with some speed and tenacity,” Gulutzan said before the game. “Looking for all those things that he provides, that he brings as a pro to the game. One of the reasons, certainly, we acquired him. … I expect him to be flying around.” And sure enough, Bunting’s aggressive, physical style paid dividends for Dallas. Bunting threw a puck toward the net late in the second period, then went straight for the crease, tying up Brock Faber and allowing Bourque to corral the rebound off the end boards and knock in the go-ahead goal. The Stars’ other major trade pickup, Tyler Myers, was in street clothes for Game 6 after a ghastly Game 5 performance in which at least two, if not three, Minnesota goals could be laid partially at his feet. Veteran Alex Petrovic, who played a significant depth role in Dallas’ last two runs to the Western Conference final, drew into the lineup and played with his usual partner, Lian Bichsel. Petrovic made an impact early, crunching Nick Foligno against the boards between the benches, leaving Foligno in considerable pain. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms