Wild defeat Stars, advance to second round

A little bit louder, now, Minnesota.

With a 5-2 win over the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Central Division Semifinal, the Minnesota Wild punched their ticket to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It’s only the franchise’s fourth playoff series win, all-time, and the first since 2015.

Many expected this to be a long and physical series, and while it didn’t go the full seven games, it certainly was an entertaining series. The teams traded wins at the beginning of the series in Dallas, with the Stars taking down the Wild in overtime in Game 3. After that, though, Minnesota took over. An OT win in the second game in St. Paul tied things up, with the Wild grinding out a 4-2 win this past Tuesday in Dallas to put the Stars on the brink.

In front of the home crowd, Minnesota put together a strong effort, and while Dallas grabbed a lead late in the second period, the Wild scored four unanswered goals to seal the deal. Quinn Hughes scored twice in Game 6, including the game-winner early in the third period. Matt Boldy scored a pair of empty-netters to secure the victory.

The elimination marks the first time Dallas has lost in the opening round for the first time in four years. The team had made it to the Western Conference Final in each of the past three years.

Kirill Kaprizov scored nine points in the series, leading all skaters.

Now, the Wild receive the gracious opportunity to face the Presidents’ Trophy winners, the Colorado Avalanche, in the Central Division Final. It will mark the fourth time the two teams have met in the postseason. While the Avalanche ousted the Wild in 2008, Minnesota stunned its longtime division rivals in 2003 and 2014. Colorado made it to Round 2 by sweeping the Los Angeles Kings.

Minnesota will be looking to do something it hasn’t done since its maiden voyage in the playoffs 23 years ago, and that’s advance to the West Final.