Rather than post a confusing spreadsheet that tried to defy the laws of cascading style sheets (like what this t-shirt sarcastically does), I'll let former SBN hockey head honco and current Toronto Globe and Mail columnist James Mirtle explain the math of the playoff race.

Western Conference (94 points)

1. San Jose - 0-16-1
2. Chicago - 1-15-1
3. Vancouver - 6-11-0
4. Los Angeles - 6-11-0
5. Phoenix - 5-10-1
6. Colorado - 7-10-0
7. Nashville - 9-7-1
8. Detroit - 10-7-0
9. Calgary - 10-6-1
10. Dallas - 12-5-0
11. St. Louis - 12-4-1
12. Minnesota - 13-4-1
13. Anaheim - 13-4-0
14. Columbus - eliminated (max: 93 pts)
15. Edmonton - eliminated (max: 82 pts)

As you can see, it's a tall order for your Dallas Stars. Even taller than last week, I'll add. Thanks to Detroit sprinting out of the gates out of the Olympic Break, the cut line has actually been bumped up a few points.

And as long as Detroit continues their break away from the a peltonen of teams that includes the Stars, Flames, Blues, Wild, and Ducks, that cut line could get even higher.

As it stands now, the Stars can only drop 10 more points out of 34 available points the rest of the season. Otherwise, it'll be a second consecutive season of post-season-less hockey at the AAC.