Minnesota Wild inch closer to first series win since 2015 - ESPN

DALLAS — The Minnesota Wild are one win away from advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

And they're in that position after suffocating one of the NHL's best attacks in a 4-2 win Tuesday against the Dallas Stars in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series.

The series resumes Thursday in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the Wild will have the first of two attempts to capture a playoff series since they last did it in 2015 when they beat the St. Louis Blues in six games before losing in the second round to the Chicago Blackhawks.

«I think it's the guys we have in here now,» said Wild forward Marcus Foligno, who has been with the franchise since 2017. «I think it's a little bit different. I think we have a lot of leadership and guys that are experienced. You get a guy like Michael McCarron tonight that steps up. Our penalty kill does the job and the goaltending. I just think that there's always been someone every night that's stepped up to help this team.»

Opening the series with a 6-1 win was immense for a few reasons. It gave the Wild the upper hand and their first Game 1 playoff series since 2023. Furthermore, it also showed that the Wild could generate and capitalize on scoring chances, a sign of growth from a team that had previously struggled to do both in previous playoff trips.

The way they stuck with the Stars, who have reached three straight Western Conference finals, in consecutive overtime contests in Games 3 and 4 also reinforced how comfortable they performed in tight situations.

What they accomplished Tuesday is just the latest example of how this iteration of the Wild appears to be quite different compared to previous versions. Their