Friday, May 1, 2026

The Minnesota Wild are moving on to the second round, ending the Dallas Stars' season with a decisive 5-2 victory on home ice. Facing elimination, Dallas showed brief signs of life midway through the second period when Wyatt Johnston and Mavrik Bourque scored to erase an early Quinn Hughes strike and give the Stars a 2-1 edge. But the momentum shifted right back before the intermission. Vladimir Tarasenko knotted the game with under three minutes remaining in the middle frame, setting the stage for Hughes to play hero. Midway through the third period, Hughes fired home his second goal of the night off a feed from Brock Faber to break the deadlock and shatter Dallas's playoff hopes. Goaltender Jesper Wallstedt shut the door the rest of the way with a composed 21-save performance, while Matt Boldy sealed the deal with a pair of late unassisted goals in the final two minutes. The result means MIN wins series 4-2, sending the Wild into the next round where they now await their next opponent.

The Anaheim Ducks have punched their ticket to the second round, ending the Edmonton Oilers' season with a decisive 5-2 victory on home ice. Facing elimination, Edmonton needed a massive push, but Anaheim suffocated them early and never let go. The Ducks established dominance midway through the opening frame when Ryan Poehling broke the ice, followed quickly by a Chris Kreider strike. Connor Murphy managed to answer back for the Oilers at 15:14 to offer a glimmer of hope, but Cutter Gauthier crushed that momentum on the power play just over a minute later to make it 3-1 before the first intermission. Troy Terry, who earned first-star honors with a multi-point night, drove the dagger home with a goal in the dying seconds of the second period. While Vasily Podkolzin struck early in the third to give Edmonton life, Lukas Dostal shut the door the rest of the way, finishing with 25 saves. Leo Carlsson added a late insurance marker to seal the victory. Anaheim wins the series 4-2, completing the upset over the Pacific Division's second seed, and now awaits their second-round opponent.