It sure looks like Quinn Hughes gave up on the final goal of Wild's Game 2 loss

There's no doubt about it, Quinn Hughes will be haunted by ghosts after the Minnesota Wild's Game 2 loss to the Stars. After helping the Wild crush Dallas in the opening game of the first-round series, Hughes gave up the knockout blow goal that sends things back to St. Paul tied up 1-1.

With under a minute left to go and the Wild suddenly building some last-minute momentum, Hughes failed to chase down a loose puck that rolled into Minnesota's empty net. It made up the difference in a 4-2 Stars win and officially ended any chance the Wild had of forcing overtime.

It's not just that Hughes failed to chase the puck down, he seemingly gave up on pursuing it. Replay shows up pulling up, presumably thinking the puck would drift wide of the net, but right when he did that it curled back in and headed straight into the goal.

Hughes is good for a few gaffes per game but he usually finds a way to recover quickly. How many times have we seen him blow a tire while trying to execute one of his pinpoint percision turns, or miss a puck that drifts out of the zone to temporarily stunt a push?

That seems to be part of the price of doing business with Hughes but part of the payoff is that no matter what happens he always seems to be cool under pressure. Not once does a sloppy pass throw him off his game or a blown tire rattle him. That's what makes this goof both tough to handle but also sort of easy to brush off.

Canucks fans trolled Quinn Hughes over blowing final goal in Wild's Game 2 loss to Stars

Of course, Canucks fans still bitter over Hughes asking to be traded had a field day with getting some shots off at him. They were in alignment with Stars fans trolling him over handing the game to Dallas in the final moments.

While it's a frustrating way for the game to end -- especially given how tight the margins are going to get in this series -- it falls under a new category that Wild fans are still getting used to.

In years past stuff like this might be the beginning of a fatal turn in a series. However, there's something about this team that makes it easy to take a step back and take a deep breath to remind ourselves there's plenty of time for things to be okay. Not only that, there's talent like we haven't seen before on the ice that gives fans a feeling of hope that is totally justified and a big time relief.

A lot of that starts with Hughes. His cool-under-pressure demenor has been massive in keeping things even-keeled for a fanbase that has been brutalized by false hope. Not since 2015 have the Wild made it out of the first-round, but even after a loss in Game 2 it doesn't feel like Minnesota has lost momentum in the series.

Hughes cost the team a game-sealing goal, but he is far from being anywhere close to something worth worrying about. Quite the opposite, actually, as he remains one of the big reasons Minnesota still has a chance to not only win but ride out a nice long playoff journey -- mistakes and all.

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