The Minnesota Wild ended an 11-year playoff series drought with a 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of their Western Conference first-round series Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Quinn Hughes scored twice, including the game-winning goal at 10:38 of the third period, and added an assist to lead the Wild to the series win. His first goal came at 6:23 of the first period on assists from Marcus Foligno and Nico Sturm. The second deflected off the skate of Stars defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin past goalie Jake Oettinger. Matt Boldy sealed the victory with empty-net goals at 18:29 and 19:45, his fifth and sixth of the series. Vladimir Tarasenko tied the game at 2-2 with a backhand at 17:02 of the second, assisted by Hughes.

For Dallas, Wyatt Johnston tied it 1-1 on a power-play goal at 7:01 of the second, assisted by Mikko Rantanen and Matt Duchene, his 10th power-play goal of the postseason. Mavrik Bourque gave the Stars a 2-1 lead at 16:08, assisted by Michael Bunting and Lyubushkin.

Jesper Wallstedt made 22 saves on 24 shots for the win, while Oettinger stopped 16 of 21 shots. The Wild were outshot 23-21 but dominated at even strength, outscoring Dallas 17-5 in the series, including 12-4 at five-on-five. All three Wild goals in Game 6 came at full strength.

Minnesota won the series 4-2 after taking Game 1 6-1, losing Game 2 4-2, dropping Game 3 4-3 in double overtime, winning Game 4 3-2 in overtime, and winning Game 5 4-2. The victory marks the Wild's first series win since defeating St. Louis in 2015, snapping a streak of 10 failed attempts, eight in the first round, including losses to Dallas in 2016 and 2023.

Hughes, acquired from Vancouver in December in the franchise's biggest trade, has been pivotal. Boldy led the series with six goals. The third-seeded Wild in the Central Division advance to face Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado, who swept Los Angeles, in the second round.

Dallas, the No. 2 Central seed that reached the Western Conference Final the past three seasons, saw its season end despite Johnston's postseason power-play prowess.