Jesper Wallstedt made 21 saves for the Wild, the No. 3 seed in the Central Division.
"I'm really proud of the group," Minnesota coach John Hynes said. "I mean, they're such a pleasure to coach. The way they went through the series, I think just learning lessons, and trying to get better and stronger. Tonight was another example of that.
"We came out on our toes, ready to play, had great commitment the last two games with the shot blocking ... and we had contributions throughout the lineup. It was fun to coach."
Wyatt Johnston and Mavrik Bourque each scored, and Oettinger made 16 saves for the Stars, the No. 2 seed in the Central Division. Dallas had advanced to the Western Conference Final in each of the past three seasons.
"We played hard, but it felt like every time we made a mistake, it ended up in our net, and I think it wasn't for a lack of trying to score, it's just that we didn't get the bounces that we needed," Dallas forward Matt Duchene said. "That's a heck of a team and they played really well. I thought tonight was a pretty even game. I mean, they had the first period, we had the second, the third was a toss-up and they just got the last bounce off a skate ... it kind of summed up the series."
Hughes' first goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 6:23 of the first period. He collected a return pass from Marcus Foligno, drifted through the slot and fired a wrist shot top shelf over the glove of Oettinger.
"'Hughesy' was at the top of his game," Hynes said. "He was a difference-maker in many different ways. Obviously, the way that he drove offense and was able to score, but I thought in general, his competitive nature tonight -- puck battles, defending, the way he skated and competed throughout the game on both sides of the puck -- was high level."