NHL Playoffs: Who will the Dallas Stars play in round two?

The Dallas Stars move on to the second round of the NHL playoffs after defeating the Minnesota Wild in Game 6.

Dallas enters the second round for the first time in franchise history since 2008 after a series that was certainly more balanced than anticipated. Although the Wild came in with the fewest points in the playoffs at 87 and lost their last five games of the regular season, they took to the postseason with a fury that nearly pushed the Stars to Game 7.

The Stars were certainly on a high in Game 1 and 2, winning both and gaining an early lead in Game 3, but Dallas was afterwards outscored 12-8 from that point on and lost two of the next three games–including Game 3–to the eighth-seeded Minnesota Wild.

In the frenetic Game 6, Jason Spezza scored his fourth goal of the series and added three assists, while captain Jamie Benn earned his team-leading tenth point of the playoffs.

Jared Spurgeon scored two of Minnesota’s four third-period goals and the Wild came within probably a millimeter of tying the game with 33.0 seconds remaining when Wild’s Nino Niederreiter hit the puck into the crease. Freeze-frame replays showed it in the net, but not quite fully across the goal line as it connected with Kari Lehtonen’s right pad. The call was no-goal, as the puck needs to entirely cross the goal line to be considered a valid goal.

The Stars now await the winner of the Chicago-St. Louis series, which is tied at 3. The game will be held tonight, Monday, April 25 at the Scottrade Center. You can watch the dramatic Game 7 at 8:30 PM ET on NBC Sports Network.

For more coverage of the NHL Playoffs, check out our NHL hub page.