Stars win the West

Stars roster

Dallas also maintained its one-point lead over New Jersey in the Presidents' Trophy race for the league's best record and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

The rest of the Western playoff picture became clear when San Jose clinched a playoff spot by a 3-3 tie with Calgary and Edmonton guaranteed its post-season play with a 5-3 victory over Anaheim.

The Chicago Blackhawks will miss the playoffs for the first time in 28 years. Chicago mustered an uninspired effort in a fight-laden 2-3 loss against Toronto.

The Blackhawks started the season with seven straight losses and never seemed to fully recover. They didn't have any winning streaks longer than couple of games and then lost four or five in a row.

"You give yourself such a small margin for error when you don't take care of the business earlier on to give yourself a little bit of a cushion," Veteran defenseman Trent Yawney said.

Chicago was still very much in the playoff picture three weeks ago. The team fell apart in the stretch run going 2-7-1 in ten games after March 23.

"It's really a kick in the (rear)," Yawney said of the Blackawks' frustrating season. "But if we don't make the playoffs, you have to take something positive out of it. When the season starts, you have to be ready to go."