Round 1 Series Recap

Rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt is only 23 years old and in his first full season with the Minnesota Wild. But he knew the history. He knew how much a playoff series victory would mean to the franchise and the entire State of Hockey.

It wasn’t until Matt Boldy’s empty-net goal for a 4-2 lead in Game 6, with the Wild having a chance to clinch the series on home ice, that Wallstedt truly realized the significance of the moment.

“I looked back through the glass, and I see someone crying in the stands,” Wallstedt said. “I realize how big this is for our fan base. Not just us, but there’s so many more people who are with us on this road and this journey.

“The excitement and joy to get past the first round is huge.”

The Wild set the tone in Game 1, grabbing home-ice advantage from the Stars with a 6-1 win in a complete-game effort from the offense to the goaltending. From there, the series was filled with tight games, with Dallas evening the series in a 4-2 win in Game 2.

But the Wild flipped their playoff script in multiple ways this series. In their last three playoff series in 2022, 2023 and 2025, they took 2-1 leads but then lost each first-round series in six games. This year, the Wild stared at a 2-1 series deficit after a heartbreaking, double-overtime loss on home ice in Game 3 when Wyatt Johnston scored the winning goal in the Wild’s second-longest playoff game in franchise history.

Past history or being down in a series did not deter the Wild players and their belief in themselves. They played a good series, deserved to win, and they did, said Brock Faber.

“This is a new team,” Faber said. “We write our own story. Every team has their own story. Every team has their own ups and downs.

“We knew we were the better team; we just had to go prove it, and that is what we did.”

As Hynes mentioned repeatedly during the series, each game is a chance to reset, no matter the result. The resilient Wild got back to work and found a way to win Game 4 to even up the series, thanks to Boldy’s tip-in goal in the final minute of the first overtime period.

Game 5, always pivotal with statistics and percentages for a series winner favoring the team who can get the 3-2 series edge, was back in Dallas. The Wild were ready, boosted by the return of veteran winger Mats Zuccarello, who missed three games after being injured in Game 1.

Zuccarello combined with his buddy, Kirill Kaprizov, to take a 1-0 lead. Peanut butter and jelly, together again. Boldy came through on the power play, and Michael McCarron scored his second of the playoffs for a 3-1 lead before Kaprizov added an empty-netter for his 17^th career playoff goal, the most in Wild franchise history, passing Zach Parise.

That sent the Wild on a happy flight back home for Game 6, with the chance to clinch a playoff series on home ice for the first time in more than a decade. But they knew the job wasn’t finished.

Nico Sturm, who’s won two Stanley Cups with Colorado in 2022 and Florida in 2025, drew back into the lineup to add his experience and physical presence for Game 6.

“We know what the game means, we know what it means to the fans,” Sturm said that morning. “If we focus on all those things on the outside, it almost takes away form focusing on what you need to do when you’re on the ice.

“I think that the group’s been very professional, very business-like. That’s the impression that I’ve gotten over the last couple weeks especially.”

As the Wild settled into the game, they took a 1-0 lead thanks to Hughes’ patience and laser of a shot from the slot about six minutes into the game. Marcus Foligno and Sturm assisted on the goal.

Johnston scored his fourth of the playoffs, on the power play once again, to tie the game in the second period. The Stars took the lead later in the period on a rare 5-on-5 goal from Mavrik Bourque. But that lasted just 54 seconds before Vladimir Tarasenko tied the game with a backhand shot as he was falling down.

It was his first goal of the series, his 50^th career playoff goal, and he made the celebration count. From his knees, he pumped both arms in the air and looked up with the perfect combo of relief and joy at finally cashing in for a goal.

“I had not a dream, but I was thinking one day about that it would be nice to score 50 goals in the playoffs,” Tarasenko said. “It was a long way to do it, but it’s so nice.”

Hughes scored the go-ahead goal about halfway through the third period, with a shot that deflected into the net off a Dallas defender’s skate in front. A lot of time remained, but it was the Wild’s night as they shut down the Stars and celebrated a first-round series victory for the first time since 2015.

“It was nice to be on the other side of the handshake line this time,” Foligno said, adding that he felt joy at the final buzzer.

“I’ve been here now for quite some time, you come up short first round. You think there’s a curse. You’ve got to bring sage or something to this arena and start burning it. I’m just happy for our fans and just excited for our organization and for the guys that have put in a lot of work.”

From Game 1, the Wild’s best players were their best players. Boldy and Kaprizov are two of the highest scorers in the league through the first round of the playoffs, with nine points each. Faber scored a pair of goals in Game 2, and Hughes showed his offensive production, along with his skate-and-spin moves around the blue line.

Credit for the defensive effort starts in the crease with rookie Wallstedt, who came into the series without any Stanley Cup Playoffs experience. After a season playing in a rotation with Filip Gustavsson, Wallstedt played well enough down the stretch to get the nod in net for Game 1. He was so solid back there that he kept the net for all six games.

Wallstedt finished the series allowing 14 goals across six games, and only four of those coming during 5-on-5 play. He had a .924 save percentage and 2.05 goals-against average in his first playoff series.

“He was pretty special this series,” Hughes said. “He made some big saves and some timely saves.”  

Wallstedt made sure to shut the door at the final minutes of Game 6, too. The Stars, forever dangerous in the series with a man advantage as they finished the series 10-for-25 (40%) on the power play, pulled goaltender Jake Oettinger with about three minutes left in regulation trailing by a goal.

They took a timeout with 2:16 to play, the net still empty and Queen’s “We Will Rock You” playing in the arena as Wild fans stood waving white rally towels and raising the decibel meters by the second.

Then came the first of Boldy’s empty-net goals with 1:31 on the clock, and another with 14.8 ticks left.

Fans celebrated, fans exhaled. The players felt it, too.

“I think we were more excited on the ice because when Bolds scored the empty-net goal, you just take breath off, just phew,” Kaprizov said. “This one feels pretty good, and I think somebody here play 12 years, somebody five, somebody six, seven and we never get first round done.

“It feels pretty good.”

It was an incredible sequence of moments for the players on the ice and everyone who’s followed the Wild through the trenches of past heartbreaks and hope for future success.

“The building was so loud that my ears started hurting,” Wallstedt said. “It was amazing. I’m so happy for our fan base.”