Back in December, when news first broke of the blockbuster that sent Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks to the Minnesota Wild, GM Bill Guerin made clear just how much of a game-changer the defenceman could be for his franchise.
"Bringing a player like Quinn Hughes here, you just don’t get these opportunities all that often,” Guerin had said that day, after the Wild traded away three talented young players and a first-round pick to land the blue-liner. “When a player of Quinn’s calibre comes available, and you have an opportunity to get him, there’s a cost to it. And we were willing to do what it takes."
Thursday night, the Wild faithful were reminded why Guerin moved out that hefty package to land the 26-year-old, the fans at Grand Casino Arena getting a front-row seat to the Quinn Hughes Show as Minnesota came up with a 5-2 win in Game 6, eliminating the Dallas Stars and booking their ticket to Round 2.
Hughes kicked off the festivities six minutes into the tilt, spurring a breakout from his own zone and finishing the play off himself with a feathery wrister that beat Jake Oettinger clean. Before the night was through, he’d tallied two more crucial points, registering an assist on a second-period marker from Vladimir Tarasenko to tie the game, and then scoring the game-winner to clinch it midway through the third.
With the three-point night in tow, Hughes finishes the series with eight points in six games, breaking the Wild’s franchise record for the most points collected by a defenceman in one playoff series. He also matched the franchise record for most points in a potential clinching game, and became the first Wild blue-liner to pot a series-clinching goal.
Wallstedt comes up clutch for Minnesota when it matters most
While all eyes were on all the offensive firepower spread among these two clubs, the contributions of netminder Jesper Wallstedt were no less crucial in Minnesota closing out the series.
In the second period, trailing 1-0, the Stars made a push. A power play granted them a tying goal — their league-leading 10th man-advantage marker of the series. They kept coming, but Minnesota’s 23-year-old puck-stopper stood tall, preventing them from tallying in quick succession and truly swinging momentum back in their direction.
In the final minute of that middle frame, with the score knotted at 2-2 after both clubs had tallied again, the netminder held his ground once more as the Stars started stacking dangerous looks. Again, Wallstedt held them off, stopping the Stars from building a lead and some confidence, heading into the break.
But it was in the final 20 minutes that the Swede did his best work. Early in the frame, as both clubs hunted for a game-winner, Wallstedt was there to quell a dangerous rush from Sam Steel and Colin Blackwell. After Hughes tallied the go-ahead marker, Wallstedt calmly gloved down an attempt from Michael Bunting. And then another from Wyatt Johnston, after the Stars’ goalie had been pulled, before Matt Boldy potted two empty-netters to ice it.
The young Swede finished the night with 21 saves on 23 shots and finishes Round 1 with a .924 save percentage.
Foligno brothers bring the pain for hard-checking Wild
It was the acquisition of Hughes that swung this game, and perhaps this series, for the Wild. But the arrival of veteran Nick Foligno last month paid off Thursday night, too.
Suiting up alongside his brother Marcus, the Folignos went full Bash Brothers mode in Game 6, leading a hard forechecking effort that had the Stars on their heels all night.
It started minutes in, with the Wild making clear from the opening puck drop they were going to press the visitors, push them back, pressure the offensively gifted squad into bobbled passes and broken rushes. But the home side's physicality seemed most impactful down the stretch, over the final minutes of the game, as Minnesota defended its one-goal lead, the Folignos making their presence known with a handful of well-placed, well-timed checks.
By the end of the night, the Wild brothers combined for 11 hits, with Marcus adding an assist on the game-opening tally as well.
Stars’ power play cashes in again, but rest of offence goes quiet
For the Stars, there will be questions about all that was left on the table.
While the Stars’ power play continued to dominate, and came up with a crucial goal early in the second period Thursday to briefly tie the game — a silky tic-tac-toe sequence finished off by Wyatt Johnston — there was still much to be desired from Dallas’s overall offensive effort.
Game 6 saw leading talents Jason Robertson, Mikko Rantanen, and Matt Duchene combine for just two shots on the night. And while Rantanen and Duchene set up that Johnston man-advantage goal, the trio went pointless at even strength in the season-ending effort.
It was an issue for Dallas throughout the series. The Stars leave Round 1 with only four five-on-five goals scored against Minnesota — the third-fewest among all playoff participants, besting only Los Angeles and Ottawa, both of whom were swept out of these playoffs.
Dallas had a chance to swing things with another power-play marker in this one, getting a man-advantage chance early in the third, before Hughes’ game-winner, that they couldn’t cash in on. But in the end, the five-on-five scoring woes sunk them.
Looking ahead to Round 2: Wild vs. Avalanche
Minnesota’s path gets no easier moving forward — they’ll now head to the second round to face a Colorado Avalanche squad that’s been dominating all season, a group that’s well-rested after dispensing with the Kings in four games.
The series will be just the fifth in NHL history to feature the two most recent Norris Trophy winners pitted against each other, as Hughes (2024’s Norris winner) will match up against Cale Makar (2025).
The last such battle? The 2007 conference final that saw Detroit’s Nick Lidstrom take on Anaheim’s Scott Niedermayer. Expect some fireworks.
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