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.
Goalie | Shots | GA | Saves | SV% |
---|---|---|---|---|
Elliott | 7 | 1 | 6 | .857 |
Allen | 13 | 2 | 11 | .846 |
Dubnyk | 31 | 1 | 30 | .968 |
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
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