The Dallas Stars have clinched a playoff spot, while the Vancouver Canucks have officially been eliminated from the race.
The Stars lost 3-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday afternoon but learned later in the day that they had clinched a spot after the Utah Mammoth defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in overtime.
The Stars (43-16-11, 97 points) are the second team to clinch after the Colorado Avalanche. Dallas trails Colorado by five points in the race for the Presidents' Trophy and first-place in the Central Division to avoid playing the Minnesota Wild in the opening round.
The Canucks, meanwhile, are the first team to be mathematically eliminated. Vancouver was idle on Sunday but has been sitting at the bottom of the standings for most of the season, prompting a number of trades, including a blockbuster involving former captain Quinn Hughes.
The Canucks are 21-40-8 for 50 points with 13 games remaining. The Nashville Predators hold the final wild-card spot with 75 points and the Kings trail them with 73. While a possibility exists for the Canucks to win their final 13 games to reach 76 points, because the Predators and Kings play twice more this season, 76 points would not be enough to clinch a playoff spot.
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