Updated NHL Playoff Bracket: Stars advance to second round

Check out the updated NHL Stanley Cup playoff bracket after the Dallas Stars defeated the Minnesota Wild in six games.

Though the series between the two Central Division rivals was originally expected to be a quick sweep favoring the Stars, Dallas was held off from victory longer than anticipated.

In their first series victory since 2008, Dallas learned that success in the postseason never comes easy, no matter who you’re facing. The Wild presumably set the Stars up for an easy first round: they came in with the fewest points in the playoffs at 87, lost their last five games of the regular season, and then lost the first two postseason games against the Stars.

Yet, after taking a 2-0 lead in games and then jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the early going of Game 3, the Stars lost the initial momentum that cast them as being so superior to Minnesota. Dallas was outscored 12-8 from that point and lost two of the next three games to the eighth-seeded Minnesota Wild, including am extremely rare home loss for the Central Division’s top-seeded team. The Wild held on to the very end, closing Sunday’s Game 6 in a heart-pounding frenzy in which the Stars only came out one goal ahead to seal the win.

Whereas the Eastern Conference was filled last night when the New York Islanders finally beat the Florida Panthers 2-1 in a double OT, winning the series 4-2, the Western Conference still has empty holes to fill. The San Jose Sharks will face the winner of tonight’s contest between the Anaheim Ducks and the Nashville Predators, and the Dallas Stars will have the unfortunate task of playing the winner of tonight’s Game 7 series between the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Stars.

That game will be aired tonight on NBC Sports Network at 8:30 PM ET.

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