Biggest winners (and a few losers) after Wild dominate Game 6 and eliminate Stars

For the first time in 10 years, the Minnesota Wild have moved past the first round of the playoffs. It's only fitting that the Wild did so on the anniversary of their first-round series win over the Colorado Avalanche back in 2014.

On Thursday night, the Wild defeated the Dallas Stars 5-2 in Game 6 to officially clinch the series and secure their spot in the second round. Credit can be given to a three-point performance by Wild star defenseman Quinn Hughes and a 21-save performance from Jesper Wallstedt. Now, the team is set to take on the Avalanche in the second round.

Let's take a look at the winners and losers from the Wild's Game 6 victory.

Winners and losers from Wild's 5-2 win over Stars in Game 6

Winner: Quinn Hughes

The Wild made it known they were going all out to win a Stanley Cup title after they pulled off a blockbuster trade for Hughes. Sure it cost them three of their young players and a first-round pick, but Hughes is one of the top defensemen in the game.

Hughes showed why the Wild made such a huge move early in the season in Game 6.

In the first period, Hughes gave the Wild an early 1-0 lead after faking out Stars center Radek Faska to rip a wrist shot past goalie Jake Oettinger. If you thought that was impressive, Hughes topped himself in the third period.

With the game tied 2-2, the Stars turned the puck over, allowing the Wild to gain possession. Hughes had the puck and instead of aiming for the net, his shot hit Stars defender Ilya Lyubushkin's skate, causing the puck to redirect into the net, giving the Wild a 3-2 lead.

Hughes showed why you make a blockbuster move to help in your pursuit of a Stanley Cup title.

Loser: Marcus Foligno

The Wild were already up 1-0 in the first period, but they had the perfect chance to go up 2-0. Well, Marcus Foligno did.

On a breakaway, the Wild had the perfect opportunity to catch Oettinger off guard. Nico Sturm was on the opposite side of Foligno, and passed it to him. With Oettinger stretched out with a wide open net, Foligno had the perfect chance to flip the puck into the wide opening ahead of him. Instead, he opted to try a back hand attempt, but got tangled up with the Stars goalie. It was an amazing chance for him, but it was to no avail.

Luckily for Foligno, this ended up not mattering, considering the final score of the game. But it can be learning experience. When you have an open net opportunity, take it and don't mess around.

Winner: Vladimir Tarasenko

It's never a bad thing for a team to have players that have countless playoff experience. That's where Vladimir Tarsenko comes in. Tarasenko had 126 games of playoff experience in 12 playoff trips, two of which resulted in him winning a Stanley Cup title with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and Florida Panthers in 2024.

In the second period, there was reason for the Wild to panic, as the Stars scored two unanswered goals, seemingly taking the momentum. But less than a minute after Mavrik Bourque scored a go-ahead goal, Tarasenko tied things up after grabbing a deflected shot from Hughes, and hit a backhand shot on a wide open net to tie things up.

This was Tarasenko's 50 playoff goal in his career, and it could not have arrived at a better time for the Wild.

Loser: Yakov Trenin

If there was one thing that the Wild could not afford to do was to get in penalty trouble. That's because the Stars have been lethal on the power play, and they made the Wild pay.

In the second period, the Wild gave the Stars their first power play opportunity. Well, Yakov Trenin did, as he was called for interference on Michael Bunting. The Stars, predictably, made Trenin pay, as Wyatt Johnston stood in front of the net an unleashed a quick shot past Wallstedt to tie the game.

This is where it felt like the momentum shifted in Dallas' favor, and fans saw it coming. Any time the Wild were called for a penalty, it felt inevitable that the Stars would score a goal. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened in the second period.

Losers: Wild power play

While the Star's power play unit was dangerous, the Wild's was not. Entering Game 6, the Wild were 4-for-22 on power play opportunities this series, which was not great for their chances of winning. Well after Thursday night, that grew to 4-for-25.

The Wild had three power play opportunities in Game 6. Much to the surprise of no one, the Wild were unsuccessful on all three.

Minnesota felt like they had a better advantage on five-on-five hockey than with the extra skater advantage throughout this series. Now that they face the tough Avalanche in the second round, they will need to up their game on the power play.

Winner: Jesper Wallstedt

Head coach John Hynes took a chance by naming Wallstedt the starting goaltender over Filip Gustavsson. Wallstedt had been better down the stretch of the season, and the rookie rewarded the head coach in this series. That was no different in Game 6.

With the chance to win the series, Wallstedt was on the top of his game. Wallstedt faced 23 shots on goal, stopping 21 of them.

Entering Game 6, Wallstedt recorded a 2.05 goals allowed average and a .926 save percentage. You couldn't have asked for any better from the young goaltender. Just think that reports indicated that the Wild were considering offering him in trades for a top forward. Good thing that never came to fruition.

Wallstedt showed earlier this season that he is the future in net. When the team needed him the most in the playoffs, he showed up.

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