Quinn Hughes Powers Wild Past Stars in Game 6, Serie Nhl
Quinn Hughes delivered three points and the Minnesota Wild closed out the Dallas Stars 5-2 in Game 6 of the serie nhl Western Conference First Round at Grand Casino Arena. The win sent Minnesota to the second round for the first time since 2015, ending a long playoff drought with Hughes at the center of the finish.
Hughes Drives Game 6
Hughes scored the Wild’s first goal at 6:23 of the first period, then added the assist on Vladimir Tarasenko’s goal at 17:02 of the second to pull Minnesota back into the game. He finished with two goals, one assist, 28 shifts and 28:55 of ice time, a workload that matched the stakes as the Wild erased the gap and seized control late.
His biggest imprint came again with 9:22 left in the third period, when he set up the play that led to the go-ahead goal. Minnesota did not need extra chances after that. The series was over once the Wild finished the 5-2 come-from-behind win.
Wild Turn The Series
The trade that brought Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 12 changed the look of Minnesota’s roster, and Game 6 showed why. John Hynes called him a difference-maker in many different ways, while Matt Boldy said the team’s game had been better with Hughes on the roster.
Boldy also said, “What he's capable of doing as a hockey player is pretty special,” and added, “I think you've seen that ever since he's come to Minnesota, the jump that we made as a team. Every aspect of our game has been better with him being on our team. 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.”
Colorado Awaits Minnesota
The Wild’s first playoff series win since 2015 now sends them into the second round against the Colorado Avalanche. Jared Spurgeon said a player of Hughes’s caliber changes the dynamic of the team, and Game 6 offered the cleanest proof yet: Minnesota needed one road through Dallas, and Hughes drove it with the kind of finish that turned a tight series into an advance.
Hynes said, “'Hughesy' was at the top of his game tonight,” and added, “He was a difference-maker in many different ways. Obviously, the way that he drove offense and was able to score, but I thought in general his competitive nature tonight -- puck battles, defending, the way he skated and competed throughout the game on both sides of the puck, was high level.”
