Dallas Stars Daily Links: Disappointing Season Ends on High Note

Well, that’s a wrap. The Dallas Stars 2017-2018 season is officially over. The Stars finished the year with 92 points and 42 wins, after beating the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 last night. The Stars were just three points out of a playoff spot.

By far the best part of the night was a natural hat trick scored by Jamie Benn within the first 14 minutes (very fitting, I know). The historic performance was just enough to nudge him over teammate Tyler Seguin for the team’s lead in points — Benn ended the year with 79 points in 82 games, while Seguin ended with 78.

Here are the goals from last night’s performance, starting with Devin Shore’s steal of the century:

Benn’s first goal indicates that he might have a career in baseball if the whole hockey thing fizzles out:

About three minutes later, Benn took advantage of some chaos in front of the Kings’ net to score the eventual game-winner:

And here’s the final one that puts the icing on the cake:

Here’s Ken Hitchcock’s final post-game interview of the season:

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Stars Stories

The season is now over, which means it’s time for the Stars to figure out exactly what went wrong and how to fix it:

Mike Heika takes a look at the Stars’ pending UFAs and whether they’ll be re-signed or not. [SportsDay DFW]

Alright, good news time. First, Stars prospect Riley Tufte is an NCAA champion!

Next, the Texas Stars came back from behind to beat the Rockford IceHogs 4-3 last night... [Texas Stars]

...which means they’ve clinched a spot in the AHL postseason!

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Central Census

All six of the Stars’ division rivals played last night. However, only one game truly mattered for the playoff race - which is exactly why I’m going to save it for last.

• Connor Hellebuyck earned his 44th win for the Winnipeg Jets in a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, setting a new record for American-born goalies. [NHL]
• Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators padded their Presidents’ Trophy lead with a 4-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. [On the Forecheck]
• The Minnesota Wild prevented the San Jose Sharks from securing home-ice advantage in the first round by thrashing them 6-3. [NHL]
• Finally, the Colorado Avalanche secured the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues, who will be staying home this postseason. [NHL]

In case you don’t remember, the Avalanche were kind of bad last year, which makes this playoff berth all the more impressive:

In a tribute to the Humboldt Broncos, the Jets and Blackhawks wore the name “BRONCOS” on their backs last night instead of the players’ names:

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League Links

Thanks to the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning, the NHL playoffs aren’t quite set, but most teams know who they are playing now. [NHL]

The first coaching change of the offseason occurred yesterday, as the New York Rangers fired head coach Alain Vigneault after five seasons. [NHL]

Meanwhile, Ken Holland will be GM for the Detroit Red Wings for at least a little while longer:

The Vegas Golden Knights won the Pacific Division, but will they be able to hold onto their top UFAs? [Sportsnet]

Henrik and Daniel Sedin played their last NHL game last night in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers:

Meanwhile, veteran forward Radim Vrbata has also decided to call it quits:

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Finally

The hockey community has gone above and beyond in showing support for the Humboldt Broncos following their tragic accident:

If you would like to contribute, you can donate here.