A tight, connected game propels the Wild. They seize a pivotal series lead, now one dominant home performance away from shattering a decade-long playoff curse.
The Minnesota Wild (3-2) took a 3-2 series lead with a 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars (2-2) in Dallas on Tuesday.
Game 6 is set for Thursday back in Minnesota at 6:30.
Minnesota didn’t just win Game 5. They put themselves in a position this franchise hasn’t seen in over a decade.
With a 4-2 win over the Stars, the Wild now hold a 3-2 series lead. It is just the second time in franchise history they’ve reached that mark, and the first since 2015. That year also happens to be the last time Minnesota advanced past the first round.
Now, they’re one win away from doing it again.
It wasn’t perfect. It rarely is this time of year. But it was the kind of game the Wild have been building toward. Structured, detailed, and timely when it mattered.
“I just think that when we play a tight, connected game, I think we're usually at our best and I thought we were responsible and showing attention to detail,” Wild head coach John Hynes said. “Jesper had a key save when we needed him. I thought overall it was another game where we can continue to build and get better.”
That “tight, connected” identity showed up most at 5-on-5, where Minnesota limited Dallas’ ability to generate clean looks despite long stretches of zone time. The Stars had possession, but not much came easy.
In fact, the Stars have not scored a 5-on-5 goal in 187:53 of game time.
On the other side, the Wild capitalized in moments. Including a power-play goal that came from the exact areas Hynes emphasized postgame.
Puck battles, second efforts, and details that don’t always show up on a scoresheet.
“If you look at the goal we scored, it was puck battles,” Hynes said. “We won at least three or four puck battles to keep the play alive and that's when opportunities present themselves.”
That grind showed up across the lineup, including from Matt Boldy, who bounced back after having a goal overturned earlier in the game.
“There’s nothing you can do. You can’t change it,” Boldy said. “You just go back to work, doing the things that work and getting pucks to the net.”
Minnesota’s ability to reset in-game, not letting moments swing momentum, has become a defining trait in this series.
And behind it all, Jesper Wallstedt continues to look more comfortable by the game on this stage.
The rookie netminder made key stops at key times, helping Minnesota weather Dallas pushes and keep control of the game flow. Now, he’s on the verge of something much bigger.
He is 3-2-0 with a 2.05 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage.
“It’s very special for us,” Wallstedt said. “We’re very confident of where we’re at. We know that we’ve been a very good team on the road all year. Now we get to bring the series home and our fans are amazing.”
That’s the shift now.
After taking care of business in Dallas, the Wild return home with a chance to close the series, something this core hasn’t done in years, and something veterans like Marcus Foligno know can’t be taken lightly.
“It’s been a hard series so far,” Foligno said. “We just got to look to control our emotions in Game 6 in front of our home crowd… We expect their biggest push.”
That push is coming. Dallas made that clear even in defeat, controlling stretches of play and generating zone time that could become more dangerous if the Wild slip.
"We knew it was going to be a long series, and we knew it was going to be a tight series," Stars' captain Jamie Benn said postgame. "We feel we could be up 3-2 in the series, but we are not and that is just hockey. Now we get to go on the road to win one game. That's all it is. We have been a great road team all year, and we will go up there and try to win the game."
But Minnesota has shown something through five games, an ability to bend without breaking, to respond, and to stay committed to how they want to play.
Now, history is within reach. One more win and the Wild will do something they haven’t done since 2015.
One more win, and this group changes the narrative.
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