NHL Playoffs: Stars at Wild Game 6 Preview

One of the best teams during the regular season will be eliminated in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. Two of three Western Conference teams with more than 100 points, Dallas and Minnesota finished behind Colorado in the Central Division leading to the matchup.

Minnesota can clinch its first playoff series win since 2015 with a victory on home ice in Game 6. One of the better road teams during the season, Dallas needs a victory to extend their season.

Stars at Wild Preview

Game 6 of the first round Stanley Cup playoff series between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild will be played on Thursday, April 30, 2026 at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, MN. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET with the game airing on TNT.

Public Betting Odds Factors

It’s unfortunate that one of these teams won’t make it past the first round. Dallas had the second-most points in the West and Minnesota was third, but the current format has them facing each other in the opening round.

As expected, games between the Stars and Wild this season have been close. They split four regular season matchups with each winning twice on home ice. Two games were decided by one goal and both clubs scored 13 times.

Home ice hasn’t been as big a factor in the playoff series with the away team winning three times. Minnesota won its second road game of the series on Tuesday to take a 3-2 lead into Thursday’s contest.

Staying out of the penalty box is a key to Minnesota having success. The Stars have converted at least one power play goal in every game and have clicked at nearly 40 percent with the man advantage. When skating at equal strength the Wild have outscored Dallas 14-4.

Playing at home with a chance to close out the series, the Wild opened as a slight favorite on the NHL Playoffs Odds. The total has been between 5.5 and 6 with the teams cashing the OVER in three of the first five games with a push.

Having reached the Western Conference final in each of the past three seasons, the Stars aren’t exiting the Stanley Cup playoffs without a fight. However, over their last 10 road playoff games Dallas is 3-7 and has been outscored 38-17.

The return of Mats Zuccarello sparked Minnesota in Game 5. Back in the lineup after a 3-game injury absence, Zuccarello tallied the first goal and the Wild never trailed.

Stars at Wild Predictions

The Stars are too good to be stumbling as mightily as they have been in 5v5 situations. They went more than 200 minutes of game time without a full and equal strength goal, but at least they’ve been good on the power play converting 9 of 23 chances with the man advantage.

Filip Gustavsson appeared to be the man in net for the Wild before the playoffs started. He handled a bulk of the work during the season and performed well with a 2.69 GAA and .903 SV% in 49 starts. Instead Jesper Wallstedt has played every minute with a .926 SV%, silencing one of the NHL’s top offenses.

Stars at Wild Betting Tips

You can expect another close game between the clubs especially with it being an elimination game. Four of the first five games were technically one-goal games with two of them getting a late empty-net tally.

The teams have played overtime twice this season and four times in the past 12 meetings. Minnesota has outscored Dallas 34-28 with the help of their 6-1 win in Game 1.

Matt Boldy is a focal point of Minnesota’s offense scoring in the last 2 games, including the overtime winner in Game 4. He’s also averaging 5.6 shots on goal per game making him a target in the prop market.

Stars at Wild Head to Head and Key Stats

There is plenty of offensive talent on the ice with the teams going OVER the total three times with a push in five series games. In the last 9 meetings overall the OVER is 6-2-1.