Quinn Hughes Drives Wild with 5 Assists and Heavy Minutes

Quinn Hughes has taken over a huge workload for the Minnesota Wild, averaging more than 32 minutes a night and posting five assists through five playoff games against the Dallas Stars. The 26-year-old has been central to Minnesota’s three games to two lead in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Hughes Controls the Pace

Those numbers have come with efficiency, not empty ice time. With Hughes on the ice at 5-on-5 in the series, the Wild have outshot Dallas 70-55 and outscored the Stars 6-0.

That kind of control has pushed Minnesota into a position where one more win would end the series. Through five games, Hughes has all five of his playoff points as assists, and he has done it while carrying more ice than almost anyone else in the matchup.

Minnesota’s December Move

The Wild acquired Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in December, and the move has delivered immediate postseason value. He finished the 2025-26 regular season with 53 points in 48 games, then carried that form into his first playoff series in Minnesota colors.

His production sits in the middle of a first round that has already seen three advancing teams and two sweeps, with five matchups headed at least six games. Minnesota’s edge over Dallas has come with Hughes driving the series every night, while the Stars have had to absorb his minutes and his puck movement shift after shift.

The Wild now have a 3-2 lead with Hughes playing the role they wanted when they brought him in. If Minnesota closes the series, his first postseason with the club will already have changed the shape of its playoff run.