It's a very big game for the Minnesota Wild. They have a chance to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.
Wild General Manager Bill Guerin says it'll be "all business" on the ice Thursday night as they try to finish off the Dallas Stars.
"We just need to be at our best tonight because their backs are against the wall," Guerin told WCCO's Chad Hartman. "In this league, the players are extremely good and they will, they're going to be at their best. So we've got to be ready."
If the Wild win, they'll move on to the second round of the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs. It would be the first time they've advanced to the second round since 2015.
Guerin adds they've made it this far thanks in large part to one of the team's leading scorers Matt Boldy, whose Olympic experience gave him a big boost of confidence. Boldy scored the game-winner in a thrilling Game 4 at Grand Casino Arena.
"I think the Four Nations tournament and the Olympics, and being around all those other star players, he's realized a couple of things," Guerin said. "What it takes to really be a star, how they operate, and that he has found out that he is just as good as those guys."
The winner of the series will take on division rival and top-seeded Colorado in round two. The Avalanche dispatched the LA Kings in round one 4 games to none.
If Game 7 is needed between the Wild and Stars however, that would be played Saturday in Dallas.
Stars captain Jamie Benn fined for cross-check on Wild forward Ryan Hartman
Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn was fined Wednesday by the NHL for cross-checking Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman after a heated exchange between the players during Game 5 of the first-round playoff series.
Benn and Hartman came together with 5:15 left in the Wild's 4-2 win on Tuesday night that gave them a 3-2 series lead.
The fine of $2,604.17 against Benn was the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
After Hartman's high shove on Benn near the Minnesota net, the Stars forward gathered himself and responded with cross-checks to the back and then high around the neck/shoulder area. Benn was assessed a minor penalty for cross-checking, and Hartman got a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, creating a 4-on-4 situation.
A win in Game 6 moves the Wild to the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff for the first time since 2015
A win in Game 6 moves the Wild to the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff for the first time since 2015
