Dallas Stars clinch Central Division title for first time since 2015-16

The Stars have been battling for the Central’s top seed all season. Holding the top spot for a total of 76 days, Dallas pulled away over the past week, securing home ice in the first two rounds and locking in a Colorado Avalanche-Winnipeg Jets first-round series below them. 

The Stars lead the Vancouver Canucks by six points for the first seed in the Western Conference. They can clinch the top seed and home ice until the Stanley Cup Final with a Canucks loss of any kind against the Edmonton Oilers Saturday. 

The last time Dallas won the division was with a very different style of team. 

The high-flying offense-first Stars under head coach Lindy Ruff could score at will, but the team, with a goaltending duo of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi, lacked the ability to keep pucks out of their own net. 

This Stars team is much better. 

They rank third in goals for per game (3.63) and 10th in goals against per game (2.88). Jake Oettinger has re-found his game after missing time with an injury and sits among the elite netminders of the NHL. 

Plus, they may just have the best depth in the league, especially with youngsters Wyatt Johnston and Logan Stankoven grabbing huge roles and Evgenii Dadonov still to return from injury soon. 

The win against the Kraken moved the Stars up to 111 points, the third-highest total in franchise history. Dallas has three games remaining and trails only the New York Rangers (112 points) in the race for the President’s Trophy awarded to the team with the most points in the regular season. 

Dallas has won the award twice in franchise history. The last time they did it, they also won the Stanley Cup (1998-99).