(Saint Paul) Roope Hintz scored in the seventh minute and the Dallas Stars raced to a 4-1 victory on Friday, eliminating the Minnesota Wild in six games in the first round.
Hintz had a playoff-high 12th point. He scored five goals.
Author of 23 saves, Jake Oettinger gave almost nothing against the team from his corner of the country. He is a native of Lakeville, a suburb of Minneapolis.
Wyatt Johnston and Mason Marchment scored 6:22 apart in the middle frame, where Dallas had an 18-5 shot advantage.
Marchment scored in the final second of the second period, making it 3-0.
Frédérick Gaudreau replied midway through the third period, but Max Domi completed the scoring in an empty net.
The Stars will face the winners of the series between the Colorado Avalanche and the Seattle Kraken.
Starting goaltender in a fourth straight game, Filip Gustavsson allowed three goals on 26 shots in two periods. Marc-André Fleury then made six saves.
The Wild are 5-14 at home in the playoffs since 2015, the last year the club reached the second round.
The Stars were beaten in seven games in the first round last year by the Calgary Flames.
