ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Already perhaps the deepest team in Wild history, the mid-December acquisition of Quinn Hughes made Minnesota a realistic Stanley Cup contender.
Hughes more than proved his worth early in the postseason by leading Minnesota to its first playoff series victory in 11 years. He scored twice in the Wild’s 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars in Game 6 on Thursday night.
“I feel like I had some chances throughout the series that I just
didn’t capitalize on. Just trying to continue to attack the game and have confidence and whatnot. I think that’s all it is,” said Hughes, who doubled his career playoff goals total to four in 36 games.
At the time of the trade, general manager Bill Guerin said when a player of Hughes caliber is available you need to make an offer knowing what he can add. And giving up three young players and a 2026 first-round draft pick was worth it.
The 26-year-old U.S. Olympian had 48 assists in 48 games with the Wild during the regular season, the most by a defenseman in franchise history. He had six assists in the Dallas series.
“Big-time players step up in big-time games, and that is what he did,” defensive partner Brock Faber said.
He’s a shutdown defender who also creates offense from his own zone with the way he quickly skates through the neutral zone and across an opponent’s blue line, without taking too many risks, all with a quiet swagger and while playing nearly 28 minutes per game in the regular season.
“Ever since he’s come to Minnesota the jump that we made as a team in every aspect of our game has been better with him being on our team,” said Matt Boldy, who had a team-high six goals in the series. “When one player has that much of an impact and leads the way he does and steps up in the biggest moments it’s pretty special to have him on the ice and have him have the puck.”
The Wild won a playoff series for the first time in 10 tries since 2015. They will face Presidents’ Trophy winner Colorado in the second round. The Avalanche have not played since sweeping Los Angeles on Sunday.
That also means two of the league’s top blueliners in Hughes and Colorado’s Cale Makar will face one another.
Hughes looks at the bigger picture.
“They were the best team in the league. It’s going to be a really hard series," Hughes said. "They’ve got some ultra-competitive guys, too. I just think it’s a great challenge for us. We’re going to be looking forward to it.”
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
