Stars throttle Wild, book ticket to 2nd round

The Dallas Stars cruised to a 4-1 victory in Friday's Game 6 against the Minnesota Wild to advance to the second round.

Jake Oettinger extended his shutout streak to 114:13 before Frederick Gaudreau bested him in the third period. He made 22 saves in the victory.

Roope Hintz opened the scoring in the first period with a dazzling solo effort, undressing former Stars teammate John Klingberg in the process.

Wyatt Johnston netted his first postseason goal in the second period before Mason Marchment beat the buzzer with under a second remaining in the frame. Max Domi added an empty netter at the end of the contest.

Marc-Andre Fleury entered the game for Filip Gustavsson at the start of the third period for Minnesota. Gustavsson allowed three goals on 26 shots, while Fleury stopped all six that he faced.

Fleury told reporters postgame that he plans to play next season, but "that might be it," per The Athletic's Michael Russo.

The veteran goaltender ranks third all-time with 544 wins across 19 seasons. He posted a .908 save percentage and 2.85 goals against average in 46 regular-season showings in 2022-23.

Fleury has one year remaining on his current deal with a cap hit of $3.5 million.

Wild forward Ryan Hartman took the defeat to heart.

"I'm sick to my stomach," he said. "This city deserves better than what we gave them. We failed them."

The Wild dropped their eighth consecutive playoff series with the loss. Minnesota last advanced to the second round in 2015, when they knocked off the St. Louis Blues.

Marcus Foligno, who has been with the team for its last five early boots, expressed frustration with the Wild's postseason futility.

"We grind our way to the playoffs and can't get out of the first round again," he said. "Broken record."

Dallas will face either the Colorado Avalanche or Seattle Kraken in the next round.