3 Takeaways From the Wild’s 5-2 Win in Game 6 Over the Stars

The Minnesota Wild hosted the Dallas Stars on Thursday evening, Apr. 30, for Game 6 and had a chance to clinch the series. The Wild had a big win in Game 5 on the road, and they had their lineup back together for about half the game before Jonas Brodin blocked a shot and left the game. Prior to Game 6, it was announced he was out and listed as day-to-day, so Jeff Petry was brought in for his 2026 NHL postseason debut. 

The only other lineup change for the Wild was that they brought Nico Sturm back in and took out Bobby Brink. Jesper Wallstedt was in the net, and the game started out in favor of the Wild, but the Stars refused to go down without a fight as everyone expected. 

The Stars tied the game and actually took the lead in the second period, but the Wild bounced back to tie the game and eventually retook the lead in the third and held it. They secured the win 5-2, and that earned them their first series win in 11 years. In this article, we’ll take a look at how the Wild did it, starting with their star players being stars. 

Wild’s Stars Truly Shine 

When the Wild made the move to bring in Quinn Hughes, they showed they were serious about putting together a team that could win and not just make it to the postseason but make a deep run. Everyone saw what a stud Hughes was throughout the rest of the season, and in the postseason, he continued to show everyone how good he can play. 

Prior to Game 6, Hughes had five assists in five games played, but in Game 6, he stepped it up a notch and put up two of the Wild’s five goals, plus assisted on another for three points that helped the Wild clinch their spot in the second round. He was all over the ice and was even more aggressive when it came to approaching the neutral zone. 

“Yeah, I don’t want to be too nice, with him sitting right next to me but what he’s capable of doing as a hockey player is pretty special, I think you see that ever since he’s come to Minnesota, the jump that we made as a team and every aspect of our game has been better with him being on our team so when one player has that much of an impact and leads the way he does and steps up in the biggest moments, it’s pretty special to have him on the ice and have him have the puck,” said Matt Boldy to the media in his postgame press conference when asked about Quinn Hughes. 

Apart from Hughes, Boldy stepped up once again, as he has this entire series. Everyone knew what he was capable of, but he showed the kind of star he is against the Stars. While Hughes had the go-ahead goal and ultimately the game-winner, Boldy stepped up with two unassisted empty-net goals back-to-back that secured the win for the Wild. 

Wild Played Their Game 

One of the biggest keys to the Wild winning the game and thus the series was their ability to stick to their game no matter what the score was. They did have some unsettling moments in the second period where they looked like they fell back into bad habits, but they quickly dug themselves back out of it. They could’ve easily felt sorry for themselves and sat back when the Stars claimed the lead, but they fought back and took the game back into their control. 

They played pretty physical and came very close to crossing the line a couple of times, but just when it looked like they were going to lose their cool and fall into the Stars’ trap, they reigned themselves back in and stayed disciplined. Although the Wild didn’t have any power-play goals in Game 6 and struggled again on the man advantage, they worked hard to stay out of the box. 

“…Yeah, I’m proud of the way we played physically and didn’t get into things, like extra-curricular stuff that could hurt us like I’ve done in the past. Yeah, I’m 34 now with three kids, I gotta get a little smarter out there. So, gotta get mature someday,” said Marcus Foligno to the media in his postgame interview when asked about keeping their cool during the series. 

Wild’s Wallstedt Continues to Stand Tall 

The Wild would never have gotten through this series if it weren’t for the spectacular goaltending of Jesper Wallstedt. They decided to put the rookie in Game 1 because of how well he played throughout the regular season, and he was the hot hand at the time. It paid off, and he was key in getting them the Game 6 victory. 

There were quite a few close calls throughout the game when the Stars had some great chances, but he stood tall and made save after save. Although the Wild controlled a lot of that game, the Stars are still a strong team and had some great chances, but Wallstedt was there to make the saves, especially in the final few minutes. 

“I don’t know, I kind of thought, coming in, I had heard how good both our goalies were, and then seeing it in the regular season, and then they were both at the Olympics. He’s 22 or 23. He was pretty special this series. He made some big saves and some timely saves. To think that he’s only 23 and able to handle the pressure, and play big like he did. We’re going to need him to continue to do that. For the next couple years he’ll be pretty scary, I think,” said Quinn Hughes to the media in his postgame press conference when asked about what he learned about Wallstedt through the series. 

The Wild have a lot to be proud of, but this was just the first step in a much bigger goal. While it feels like they should be given something for getting out of the first round, they know there’s a lot more work to be done to get to the final goal: the Stanley Cup. However, for now, they can take a little time to celebrate and hopefully bring this momentum against their second-round opponent, the Colorado Avalanche.