Community Picks: Minnesota 0% vs Dallas 0%

Patrick Kane scored twice, and Chicago got goals from five different players as the Blackhawks rolled to a 6-1 thumping of the visiting Dallas Stars on Friday, keeping their Central Division rivals from clinching the first wild-card spot in the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs. The Stars (42-32-7, 91 points) have already sewn up a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2016, but they need one point in their final game, at home on Saturday against Minnesota, to secure the seventh overall seed in the Western Conference. Chicago (36-33-12, 84 points) was eliminated from the postseason on Tuesday and will miss the playoffs for a second straight season. Continue to Article

April 05, 2019 11:19:pm EST

The Vegas Golden Knights have nothing to gain in the standings on Thursday night (except to play spoiler for the Arizona Coyotes), but they will still be getting some good news as starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will be making his return to the lineup after missing the past nine games due to a lower-body injury. Fleury has not played for the Golden Knights since he stopped 40 out of 41 shots in a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars back on March 15. In his absence the team relied heavily on backup Malcolm Subban and ended up winning just four of the nine games to settle in the third spot in the Pacific Division. Continue to Article

April 05, 2019 10:07:am EST

Joakim Nordstrom, David Pastrnak and Zach Senyshyn each scored and Jaroslav Halak was perfect in net as the visiting Boston Bruins skated to a 3-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night. Halak made 26 saves for his fifth shutout of the season for the Bruins (49-23-9, 107 points), who went into the game having clinched second place in the Atlantic Division and will face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Boston will close out the regular season at home against the regular season-champion Tampa Bay Lighting. Continue to Article

April 04, 2019 10:47:pm EST

The Dallas Stars have earned a berth in the NHL playoffs and can secure the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference when they travel to Chicago to face the Blackhawks on Friday in the penultimate game of the regular season for both teams. The Blackhawks have been eliminated from the race for the Stanley Cup, but Dallas (42-31-7, 91 points) still has the chance to make plenty of noise. The Stars clinched their first trip to the playoffs since 2016 and just their third in the past 11 seasons with a dominating 6-2 home win over Philadelphia on Tuesday. Continue to Article

April 04, 2019 8:43:pm EST