Wild Ends 11-Year Playoff Drought, Beats Stars to Win Series

Minnesota’s long playoff wait ended at Grand Casino Arena, where Quinn Hughes scored twice and added an assist to push the Wild past the Dallas Stars 5-2 in Game 6 and clinch the series 4-2. The win gave Minnesota its first postseason series victory since 2015 and sent the Wild into the second round for the first time in 11 years.

This was more than a single night of relief. Minnesota had lost nine straight series before this one, and Dallas had been the hurdle twice already, knocking the Wild out in 2016 and again in 2023. Breaking through against the same opponent carried the weight of closure, and it reset the conversation around a franchise that had spent too many springs explaining why it could not finish.

The game itself turned in the third period after Minnesota held a 2-2 tie and then pulled away late. Matt Boldy added two empty-net goals to close it out, and Jesper Wallstedt steadied the net with 21 saves in ESPN’s box score, 22 in AP follow-up coverage. Wallstedt said he noticed a fan crying in the stands after Minnesota scored its fourth goal, a moment that captured how much the result meant to a fan base that had lived through the drought.

For John Hynes’ club, the victory suggested more than a cathartic finish. Minnesota showed it could take a tight series against a familiar opponent and keep its composure when the pressure peaked. That matters for a team that has often looked good enough in the regular season without proving it could survive the grind that follows. Hughes’ two-goal night supplied the top-end production, Boldy finished the job, and Wallstedt kept Dallas from turning the game back the other way.

The next test comes quickly, and it is a harder one. Minnesota will face the Colorado Avalanche, the Presidents’ Trophy winner, in the second round. Colorado had already advanced after sweeping the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 in Game 4 on Sunday and enters with extra rest, time to scout and a different level of firepower led by Nathan MacKinnon. For the Wild, the series win does not settle the larger question of ceiling, but it does answer the most basic one: Minnesota can still rise above its past when the moment demands it.