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Push for the Playoffs: Stars on brink of postseason return

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There's nothing like playoff hockey, as the quest for the Stanley Cup begins April 10th on the networks of NBC and the NBC Sports App.

Push for the Playoffs will run every morning through the end of the 2018-19 NHL season. We’ll highlight the current playoff picture in both conferences, take a look at what the first-round matchups might look like, see who’s leading the race for the best odds in the draft lottery and more.

Jim Lites’ chewing out of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin seems like it happened ages ago. For the Dallas Stars, their season, which was highlighted by their CEO calling out his team’s best forwards in separate interviews in late December, could take a turn in a new and brighter direction Tuesday night.

With just as single point against the Philadelphia Flyers (or a Coyotes loss to the Kings), the Stars will return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Since Dec. 28, when Lites went off, the Stars have accumulated the fourth-most points in the Western Conference. Seguin has 20 goals and 43 points in 41 games, while Benn has netted 12 goals and recorded 22 points in 38 games. But the biggest heroes of this season for the franchise have been their goaltenders.

Both Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin have been phenomenal between the pipes for the Stars. Their play is a reason why Dallas is battling the New York Islanders for the William Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed (194). Head coach Jim Montgomery has split their time in net, some of that having to do with the injury bug biting Bishop several times.

Khudobin has played 39 games and posted a .934 even strength save percentage. Bishop has suited up for 45 and has a .936 ESSV%. Those numbers put both in the top five of that category among net minders with 30 appearances, with Bishop leading the league.

Bishop is also third in the NHL with six shutouts, and you wonder if injuries hadn’t hit him in the last few weeks how much of a favorite would he be for the Vezina Trophy? Montgomery said on Monday that he expects Bishop to get in a game before the end of the regular season on Saturday, so that’s a good sign as they hope to be prepping for their Round 1 opponent by then.

“We want to play him, and he needs a game before we start the playoffs and it’s not good for (Anton Khudobin) to play every game, either,” Montgomery said.

The Stars are also waiting on Mats Zuccarello, who played a whole 13:35 after being dealt from the New York Rangers before breaking his arm. There’s an outside chance he returns this weekend as well.

TODAY’S GAMES WITH PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
Bruins at Blue Jackets, 7 p.m. ET (NBCSN; live stream link)
Hurricanes at Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m. ET
Lightning at Canadiens, 7:30 p.m. ET
Penguins at Red Wings, 7:30 p.m. ET
Jets at Wild, 8 p.m. ET
Flyers at Stars, 8:30 p.m. ET
Oilers at Avalanche, 9 p.m. ET
Kings at Coyotes, 10 p.m. ET

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY

Lightning vs. Hurricanes
Capitals vs. Blue Jackets
Islanders vs. Penguins
Bruins vs. Maple Leafs

Flames vs. Avalanche
Jets vs. Stars
Blues vs. Predators
Sharks vs. Golden Knights

TODAY’S CLINCHING SCENARIOS
The Penguins will clinch a playoff berth:

• If they defeat the Red Wings in any fashion
OR
• If they get one point against the Red Wings AND either of the following occur:
-The Canadiens lose to the Lightning in any fashion
-The Hurricanes lose to the Maple Leafs in regulation
OR
• If the Canadiens lose to the Lightning in regulation

The Blue Jackets will clinch a playoff berth:

• If they defeat the Bruins in any fashion AND the Canadiens lose to the Lightning in regulation

The Dallas Stars will clinch a playoff berth:

• If they get one point against the Flyers
OR
• If the Arizona Coyotes lose to the Kings in any fashion

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PLAYOFF PERCENTAGES (via Hockey Reference)
Lightning — Clinched
Bruins — Clinched
Capitals — Clinched
Islanders — Clinched
Maple Leafs — Clinched
Penguins — 99.9 percent
Blue Jackets — 94.1 percent
Hurricanes — 75.4 percent
Canadiens — 30.6 percent
Flyers — Eliminated
Panthers — Eliminated
Sabres — Eliminated
Rangers — Eliminated
Devils — Eliminated
Red Wings — Eliminated
Senators — Eliminated

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PLAYOFF PERCENTAGES (via Hockey Reference)

Flames — Clinched
Jets — Clinched
Sharks — Clinched
Predators — Clinched
Blues — Clinched
Golden Knights — Clinched
Stars — 99.5 percent
Avalanche — 77.5 percent
Coyotes — 22.3 percent
Wild — 0.6 percent
Blackhawks — 0.1 percent
Oilers — Eliminated
Canucks — Eliminated
Ducks — Eliminated
Kings — Eliminated

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JACK OR KAAPO? THE DRAFT LOTTERY PICTURE

Senators — 18.5 percent*
Kings — 13.5 percent
Devils — 11.5 percent
Sabres — 9.5 percent
Red Wings — 8.5 percent
Rangers — 7.5 percent
Ducks — 6.5 percent
Oilers – 6 percent
Canucks — 5 percent
Blackhawks — 3.5 percent
Wild — 3 percent
Flyers — 2.5 percent
Panthers — 2 percent
Coyotes — 1.5 percent
Canadiens — 1 percent
(*COL owns OTT’s 2019 first-round pick)

ART ROSS RACE

Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning — 125 points
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers — 115 points
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks — 105 points
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers — 102 points
Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins — 98 points

ROCKET RICHARD RACE

Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals — 51 goals
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers — 47 goals
John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs — 46 goals
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning — 42 goals
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks — 41 goals
Alex DeBrincat, Chicago Blackhawks — 41 goals
Cam Atkinson, Columbus Blue Jackets — 41 goals
Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning — 41 goals
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers — 41 goals

————

Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.