Parise, Dubnyk Lead Wild Past Blues In Series Clincher

ST. PAUL -- The Minnesota Wild are moving on to the second round of the playoffs after defeating the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Sunday afternoon.

Zach Parise scored two goals and Devan Dubnyk stopped 30 shots to lead Minnesota to a series win over St. Louis, four games to two.

Parise's first period goal gave the Wild a 1-0 lead which was later extended to 2-0 on a goal by Justin Fontaine midway through the second.

The Blues' lone goal came courtesy of T.J. Oshie with just seconds remaining in the second period.

Any concerns that Oshie's goal would carry momentum over into the third period for the Blues were squashed as Parise scored another goal just one minute into the final period.

With a 3-1 lead, the Wild played phenomenal defense -- shutting the Blues down on each one of their offensive chances -- and Nino Niederreiter capped off the win with an empty-net goal to make it 4-1 with under two minutes left.

The Wild will now move on to the second round where they will have a showdown with the Chicago Blackhawks in the playoffs for the third consecutive year.

Chicago also won their opening series in six games and will have the home ice advantage in the series against the Wild. Dates and times for the second round series have not yet been announced.