Parise, Dubnyk shine as Wild eliminate Blues; will face Blackhawks in 2nd round

Zach Parise scored a pair of goals and Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves as the Minnesota Wild eliminated the St. Louis Blues with a 4-1 victory in Game 6 of their Western Conference first-round series Sunday.

The Wild will face the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round. Chicago defeated the Nashville Predators in six games in their first-round matchup.

Minnesota will face Chicago in the playoff series for the third straight year.

Star Performer: Parise opened the scoring with a soft shorthanded goal on Blues goaltender Jake Allen and added an insurance marker in the third period to all but ice the victory.

Turning Point: Wild forward Justin Fontaine went five-hole on Allen, beating him with another soft goal in the second period. That gave Minnesota a 2-0 lead and chased Allen from the game. Fontaine's goal held up as the game-winner.

Goalie Comparison: Allen was replaced by Brian Elliott after facing only 13 shots, while Dubnyk was stellar.

Top Highlight: Parise's second goal was impressive, as the Wild winger backhanded a rebound past Elliott to give Minnesota a 3-1 lead.

(Courtesy: NHL.com)

Stat of the Night: The Wild won an elimination game while holding a series lead for the first time in franchise history, according to the NHL's PR department.

Series at a Glance:

Game 1: Wild 4, Blues 2
Game 2: Blues 4, Wild 1
Game 3: Wild 3, Blues 0
Game 4: Blues 6, Wild 1
Game 5: Wild 4, Blues 1
Game 6: Wild 4, Blues 1