It’s official! The Dallas Stars have clinched a spot in the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. Although they failed to secure a spot on Sunday when the Arizona Coyotes beat the Minnesota Wild, Dallas took destiny into their own hands by beating the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday night. The victory gave them the final point necessary to clinch a playoff spot, marking the Stars’ first postseason appearance since the 2015-16 season. It’s been quite an unforgettable season for Stars fans this year. After hiring rookie head coach Jim Montgomery and signing Tyler Seguin to a new eight-year contract extension in the offseason, the Stars faced early adversity when half of their blue line — including top defenseman John Klingberg — was sidelined due to injury. Not long after that stretch, Stars CEO Jim Lites went on a rant about Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin for holding the team back, timed just a few days before Dallas was announced as the host of the 2020 Winter Classic. At the trade deadline, the Stars acquired New York Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello, who was then injured in his very first game. Alexander Radulov was scratched for missing a team meeting, then followed it up with his first career hat trick. Ben Bishop even set a franchise record for the longest scoreless streak by a goaltender, but then left the game due to injury. And then he was injured again a couple weeks later. Despite all of the chaos throughout the year, both at their own hands and at the hands of hockey itself, the Stars have emerged as a Stanley Cup playoff team once more. Championed by their stellar goaltending tandem of Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin, the Stars have made the postseason for the third time in the six seasons since Jim Nill took over as general manager. The Stars will likely be the first Wild Card, as the Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, and resurgent St. Louis Blues trip over themselves to see who can win (or fail up into) the top three spots of the division, but a lot can happen in these last couple of days. For now though, let’s just celebrate that we finally get to see playoff hockey in Dallas again. Check out our preview of potential first round opponents, and stay tuned as we wrap up the final two games of the regular season this weekend. The roller coaster just keeps going up (for now).<doc-sep>DALLAS, TX - APRIL 2: Alexander Radulov #47 and the Dallas Stars celebrate a goal against the Philadelphia Flyers at the American Airlines Center on April 2, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) The Dallas Stars entered Tuesday night in hopes of securing a playoff spot and made it happen with a big win against the Philadelphia Flyers. But the way in which they went about securing the spot was the most impressive part. A magic number of one can sometimes be a daunting scenario for an NHL team on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs. And for a team like the Dallas Stars, it very well could have served as a challenging enemy. The Stars closed out their March schedule this past Saturday in Vancouver. It was the final contest of a four-game road trip and provided Dallas with an opportunity to finish the swing on an undefeated note against a struggling opponent. But the game offered much more than just a chance at going 4-0-0 on a late-season trip. The biggest implication for the Stars as they entered Saturday night was the opportunity to secure a spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Their magic number sat at two, meaning that a win against a sub-.500 Canucks team would officially punch their ticket. That didn’t happen. The Dallas Stars fell into a 2-0 hole early in the first period and entered the third with a two-goal deficit to close. But the resilience that they had shown two nights earlier in Edmonton surfaced yet again as the Stars notched two goals late in the final frame to push the game to overtime. They eventually made it to the shootout, but dropped in the eighth round as Markus Granlund finally found a way to break Anton Khudobin and Mattias Janmark couldn’t answer. Though the Stars didn’t officially clinch, one point was important. It trimmed the Stars’ magic number in half and pushed their playoff odds to 99.9 percent. And that’s where things could have gotten tricky. When a team’s magic number sits at one, there’s a certain sense of confidence that can creep in. The Stars had three more games left on their regular season schedule. All three contests were against teams well outside of the playoff picture and Dallas only needed one of the six available points to secure their spot. On top of that, any point lost by the Arizona Coyotes would also push the Stars over the mark. And when all of those promising scenarios mix with the fact that the Stars’ magic number couldn’t drop, there was plenty of room for Dallas to play with less emotion and energy and focus instead on next week. After all, it would have required an awful miracle for them to fall out of the picture. But they didn’t let that false sense of security creep in. The Stars didn’t rest on their impressive comeback bid in Vancouver and take it as a clincher. They didn’t wait around for the Coyotes to lose a game (even though Arizona did lose on Tuesday night) so they could be propelled into the playoffs without having to grind it out. Instead, they welcomed the Philadelphia Flyers to the American Airlines Center and trounced them in a 6-2 routing in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,532 fans. And with that, they officially locked up a playoff spot. You can call the win a lot of different things. First off, it’s a clinching win. It could also be labeled as a statement win with an exclamation point attached. It included the best first period by the Stars this season and was a win that reestablished hope and potential for their playoff journey. In the most important game of the season, the Stars broke droughts, set records, and took full control. It all started just 94 seconds into the game when Jason Dickinson scored his first goal since Dec. 3, 2018 when he opened the scoring against the Edmonton Oilers. That’s 38 consecutive starts without a goal. Dickinson now has six goals and 21 points through 65 games this season, all of which are career-highs for the 23-year-old forward. “That was a rough stretch,” Dickinson told Sean Shapiro of The Athletic following the game. “That one felt really good.” Less than three minutes later, Esa Lindell scored a power play goal in front of the net on a pretty feed from Mats Zuccarello. Lindell’s goal was nothing short of a highlight reel as he scored between-the-legs in a fashion that would make Connor McDavid applaud. “I was so close last week when McDavid pulled that I guess I learned quickly something from it,” Lindell told Shapiro after the game. “Yeah, not happening often.” He just turns around like it was no big deal. #GoStars pic.twitter.com/lM3rVpMMcL — x – Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 3, 2019 Lindell now has 11 goals and 32 points in 80 starts, all of which are also career-highs. By the end of the first period, the Stars owned a 2-0 lead as well as a shooting percentage of 40 percent. It seemed as though they carried all of the momentum and that a playoff spot was all but imminent. But the Flyers came clawing back. Oskar Lindblom scored early in the second period and Shayne Gostisbehere notched a power play goal a few minutes later. Just like that, the Stars were in a 2-2 deadlock as Philadelphia increased the pressure. The Dallas Stars didn’t back down, though. They uncorked another offensive assault in the final four minutes of the period as Alexander Radulov and Tyler Pitlick scored to reestablish the lead at two. It was Pitlick’s first goal since returning on Saturday from a wrist injury that caused him to miss 30 games. By the end of the second period, the Stars had four goals on 13 shots and owned a 4-2 lead. And though that would have been a perfect opportunity to sink back into a more defensive mode and protect their lead, Dallas kept pouring it on.<doc-sep>AP DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars clinched their first trip to the playoffs in three years Tuesday night, getting two goals and two assists from Alexander Radulov in a 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. The Stars were just a point shy of the postseason and could have made it with an Arizona loss in a later game. Instead, they left little doubt with four goals in the final 24 minutes, including a pair 10 seconds apart, for just their third Western Conference playoff berth in 11 seasons. Jason Dickinson, Esa Lindell, Tyler Pitlick and Blake Comeau also scored for the Stars, who hold the first wild-card spot with 91 points and are unlikely to get into the top three in the Central Division. Dallas last made the playoffs in 2016, losing a Game 7 to St. Louis in the second round. HURRICANES 4, MAPLE LEAFS 1 TORONTO (AP) — Justin Williams and Dougie Hamilton each banked in goals from behind Toronto's net as Carolina picked up a big two points in the Eastern Conference playoff race with a victory over the listless Maple Leafs. Jordan Staal also scored for the Hurricanes, while Hamilton added an empty-netter. Petr Mrazek stopped 23 shots for Carolina, which came in having lost three of its past four in regulation as the franchise looks to make the postseason for the first time since 2009 — currently the NHL's longest streak of playoff futility. John Tavares scored his 47th goal of the season for Toronto. Garret Sparks made 32 saves. The Leafs clinched a playoff spot for a third consecutive spring with Monday's 2-1 road victory over the New York Islanders to set up a second consecutive first-round matchup with the Boston Bruins. Toronto entered Tuesday's games four points back of Boston for second in the Atlantic Division, and home ice in the opening round, but will now start on the road after the Bruins defeated the Blue Jackets 6-2 in Columbus. The Hurricanes are in the first-wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 95 points. Columbus and Montreal each have 94 points, but the Blue Jackets have second wild-card spot because of a tiebreaker. BRUINS 6, BLUE JACKETS 2 COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jake DeBrusk and the Boston Bruins are looking to build some momentum heading into the playoffs. The Columbus Blue Jackets are just trying to get into the postseason right now. Boston beat Columbus, ruining the Blue Jackets' opportunity to clinch a wild card in their last game at home. Instead the race will extend into the last two games of the season. The Hurricanes are on top of the wild-card standings with 95 points. Columbus and Montreal each had 94, and the Blue Jackets hold the tiebreaker over the Canadiens. DeBrusk had two goals and an assist and Tuukka Rask made 32 saves to help the Bruins stop a two-game slide. Brad Marchand and Karson Kuhlman each had a goal and an assist, and Marcus Johansson and David Pastrnak also scored. Oliver Bjorkstrand extended the longest active goal streak in the NHL to six games with a third-period tally for Columbus, which had won five in a row. Matt Duchene also scored. Sergei Bobrovsky had 19 stops, but allowed four goals before being relieved by Joonas Korpisalo late in the second period. CANADIENS 4, LIGHTNING 2 MONTREAL (AP) — Artturi Lehkonen and Max Domi scored in the third period to lead Montreal win over NHL-leading Tampa Bay, keeping the Canadiens within reach for a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Montreal and Columbus both have 94 points and two games left in the regular season. But the Blue Jackets currently own the tiebreaker. Nate Thompson and Joel Armia also scored for the Canadiens, who improved to 6-1-1 in their past eight games. Carey Price stopped 22 shots for his 35th win of the season. Steven Stamkos and Cedric Paquette scored for the Presidents' Trophy-winning Lightning, who were playing their third game in four nights. AVALANCHE 6, OILERS 2 DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie scored a minute apart to ignite a four-goal second period as playoff-chasing Colorado rallied for a win over Edmonton. Down 2-0 after the opening period to an Edmonton team already eliminated from postseason contention, the Avalanche surged in the second. MacKinnon started the scoring spree with his 40th goal of the season, while Barrie, Alexander Kerfoot and Colin Wilson joined in. All four goals were scored in a 7:08 span. Kerfoot and Sven Andrighetto added insurance goals in the third. WILD 5, JETS 1 ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota raced off to a big lead against Winnipeg, and then started watching the scoreboard to see if its faint playoff hopes would survive another night. The Wild did their part, but their six-year playoff streak came to an end. Zach Parise scored twice in his return from injury, Devan Dubnyk made 32 saves and the Wild rolled against the Jets. Victor Rask, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno also scored for Minnesota, which entered play five points behind Colorado for eighth in the Western Conference. The Avalanche trailed 2-0 at home against Edmonton before rallying for a 6-2 win that knocked the Wild out of the playoff contention. Jacob Trouba scored a short-handed goal for Winnipeg, but goaltender Eric Comrie allowed three first-period goals in his first start of the season and fifth of his career. Comrie finished with 23 saves. The Jets have lost four of five to slip into a tie with Nashville for the lead in the Central Division. The Predators won 3-2 in Buffalo on Tuesday night. Winnipeg and Nashville each have two games remaining. PREDATORS 3, SABRES 2 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Ryan Johansen scored 6:32 into the third period, and the Predators stayed in the hunt for the Central Division title. P.K. Subban had a goal and an assist and Craig Smith also scored as Nashville moved two points ahead of idle St. Louis for second place in the division. The Predators began the day two points behind Central-leading Winnipeg.<doc-sep>Look, I don’t care that we’ve already posted about this. Twice. I’ll say it again — the Dallas Stars are back in the playoffs, baby! Of course you all know this by now (or at least I hope you do), so let’s just jump straight into the highlights from last night’s 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, shall we? First up is Jason Dickinson, snapping a 38-game goal drought: Next was Esa Lindell doing his best Connor McDavid impression: After the Flyers tied it up in the second, Alexander Radulov scored the eventual game-winner: Time stood still for Talbot and before he knew it, Radulov buried it with a backhander. #GoStars pic.twitter.com/AaRE0S2nah — x - Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 3, 2019 The Stars then regained their two-goal lead thanks to a Tyler Pitlick power play goal: The Stars put on an offensive clinic during the 4v4 and Pitlick scores. pic.twitter.com/OcvKPlGTTo — Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) April 3, 2019 Not wanting to be left out on the fun, Blake Comeau scored No. 5 about halfway through the third: Ten seconds later, Dickinson and Radulov put the nail in the coffin to finish the game 6-2: Here’s what Radulov had to say after the game: "Now the fun starts in a week." We can't wait either, Rads. #GoStars pic.twitter.com/3nttq9CglQ — x - Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 3, 2019 Stick taps to Jim Montgomery, who got the Stars back into the playoffs in his first year as head coach: Monty says that he wanted the team to make the playoffs on their own merit, not by another team losing. He also shares when he thought this group was a team that was going to make the postseason. pic.twitter.com/C2n0KAxOmE — x - Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 3, 2019 Mats Zuccarello — back for the first time since he was injured in his Dallas debut — left the game early, but no need to worry: Jim Montgomery said Mats Zuccarello and Andrew Cogliano were taken out of the game as precautions. — Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) April 3, 2019 Wild Wild West I don’t know what else to say, because last night was crazy, y’all: (Side note: that Kings win also locked the Ottawa Senators into 31st place, meaning Colorado will have the best NHL draft lottery odds and a guaranteed pick in the top four. It was a good day to be an Avalanche fan.) Man, does this look good: Around the League In light of the CWHL folding, the NWHL is looking at expansion into Canada, and the NHL has promised additional financial support: Here's the full news story on NWHL developments, with comments from Rylan on sponsorships, potential for private ownership, and relocation https://t.co/JjrEO8xL5c — Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) April 2, 2019 The Detroit Red Wings have extended head coach Jeff Blashill, because... well.... umm... The @DetroitRedWings have awarded head coach Jeff Blashill a two-year extension. https://t.co/s1JruJAZ0X — NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 2, 2019 The Tampa Bay Lightning have long since clinched the President’s Trophy, but will they be able to win the big one? (ICYMI) Presidents' Trophy problems: Only one Stanley Cup champion among #NHL's past 10 regular-season winners. Can the Lightning defy recent history? @SamMcCaig22 files: https://t.co/RwNfZ8dp85 pic.twitter.com/e0IIibVYuu — The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) April 3, 2019 Cheers to Ben Bishop, who has been recognized by the AHL for his outstanding play: After failing to make the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third time in four years, Connor McDavid is just a liiiitle bit annoyed: A long season appears to have worn on Oilers captain Connor McDavid.https://t.co/p6c5CmzHMa — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 2, 2019 Elliotte Friedman touches upon this, women’s hockey, and more in his 31 Thoughts: Finally... Playoff hockey means at least two more home games, so get your tickets now!<doc-sep>
EDMONTON, AB - MARCH 28: The Dallas Stars celebrate their shootout win against the Edmonton Oilers on March 28, 2019 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images) It may have taken 80 games, but the Dallas Stars got it done on Tuesday night. They secured a victory against the Philadelphia Flyers and officially punched their ticket to the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Dallas Stars are playoff bound. And for the first time in three years, the road to the Stanley Cup will go through Texas. Take a moment to absorb that in its entirety. After starting the month of March with a dominant 9-4-0 record, the Stars entered their final game of the month on a three-game win streak. Their magic number to clinch a playoff spot sat at two and a win would officially punch their ticket to the postseason. All they had to do was defeat the Vancouver Canucks to close out their road trip and the month. That didn’t happen, though the Stars fought hard. They clawed back from a 2-0 deficit and forced the game into overtime and the shootout, where they eventually fell just short of a second point. But they managed to cut the magic number in half and did a lot of positive things along the way. The Stars didn’t receive any help on March 31, either, as the Arizona Coyotes, who sat ninth in the Western Conference, won their game and kept the Stars from clinching. And so, it was all in the home team’s hands as the Stars welcomed the Philadelphia Flyers to town. All they needed was a point. But they ended up getting so much more. In one of their most impressive performances of the season, the Dallas Stars tied a season-high in goals and blasted the Philadelphia Flyers 6-2. The intensity was high, but the Stars answered the bell. Jason Dickinson broke a goal drought less than two minutes into the contest. Esa Lindell scored on a power play goal a few minutes later thanks to an assist from Mats Zuccarello, who skated in his first game back from a five-week injury. Alexander Radulov netted two goals of his own. Blake Comeau and Tyler Pitlick also chipped in with goals. The power play went 2/6. Dallas had a shooting percentage above 30 percent through two periods. And in the final period, the Stars outshot the Flyers 17-10 and scored their final two goals to solidify the 6-2 victory. When the Dallas Stars needed to step up, they did. That’s what good playoff teams do. As a result, they are headed back to the postseason after a three-year absence. It’s the 15th time in franchise history that the team will participate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but will be just the third time in the last 11 seasons. Their last visit to the playoffs was in 2016. The Stars won the Central division and Western Conference regular season titles that year and posted a 50-23-9 record with 109 points. They also advanced to the second round, but fell just short in game seven against the St. Louis Blues. But that was the past. This season, the Dallas Stars sit at 42-31-7 with 91 points. And with four potential points left on the table, they aren’t finished just yet. Tuesday night proved that. In a big game, the Stars followed through and secured their spot at the postseason table. In head coach Jim Montgomery‘s first season as an NHL head coach, he’s turned a team stuck in mediocrity into a playoff contender. Two games remain in the 2018-19 regular season for the Dallas Stars. But those games will simply be an opportunity to build confidence as the Stars prepare for the next step, being the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s been three years too long, but playoff hockey is finally coming back to Texas. And for a Stars team that is surging at the moment, it couldn’t be happening at a better time.