DALLAS — On their final day of the NHL regular season, the Dallas Stars clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Here is a look at the NHL standings, as of April 18:
NHL Western Conference
Central Division
- y-Dallas Stars – 113 pts, 52-21-9 (W, L, OT)
- x-Winnipeg Jets – 108 pts, 51-24-6 (W, L, OT)
- x-Colorado Avalanche – 105 pts, 49-25-7 (W, L, OT)
Pacific Division
- y-Vancouver Canucks – 109 pts, 50-22-9 (W, L, OT)
- x-Edmonton Oilers – 104 pts, 49-26-6 (W, L, OT)
- x-Vegas Golden Knights – 98 pts, 45-28-8 (W, L, OT)
Wild Card
- x-Nashville Predators – 99 pts, 47-30-5 (W, L, OT)
- x-Los Angeles Kings – 97 pts, 43-27-11 (W, L, OT)
Dallas Stars playoff opponent
Currently, the Dallas Stars would take on the Los Angeles Kings in the first round.
The first round opponent, however, will be determined on the final day. If Los Angeles wins their final game, and Vegas loses theirs, then the Kings will hop the Golden Knights in the standings, slating the Stars against the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round. If Vegas wins their final game, they clinch being they third seed in the Pacific Division, and Dallas would still play the Kings.
Sixteen teams will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The top three teams in each division make up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots will be filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference, based on regular-season record and regardless of division.
In the First Round, the division winner with the best record in each conference will be matched against the wild-card team with the lesser record; the wild card team with the better record will play the other division winner.
The teams finishing second and third in each division will meet in the First Round within the bracket headed by their respective division winners.
First-round winners within each bracket play one another in the Second Round to determine the four participants in the Conference Finals.
Home-ice advantage through the first two rounds goes to the team that placed higher in the regular-season standings. In the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final, home-ice advantage goes to the team that had the better regular-season record - regardless of the teams' final standing in their respective divisions.
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