Dallas Stars playoff picture: Who will they play in the 1st round?

DALLAS — With just days left in the NHL regular season, the Dallas Stars are in first place the Central Division and clinched their playoff berth. 

Here is a look at the NHL standings, as of April 13:

Central Division

1. x-Dallas Stars – 109 pts, 50-21-9 (W, L, OT)
2. x-Winnipeg Jets – 104 pts, 49-24-6 (W, L, OT)
3. x-Colorado Avalanche – 104 pts, 49-24-6 (W, L, OT)

Pacific Division

1. x-Vancouver Canucks – 105 pts, 48-22-9 (W, L, OT)
2. x-Edmonton Oilers – 102 pts, 48-24-6 (W, L, OT)
3. x-Los Angeles Kings – 95 pts, 42-26-11 (W, L, OT)

1. x-Nashville Predators – 97 pts, 46-29-5 (W, L, OT)
2. x-Vegas Golden Knights – 94 pts, 43-28-8 (W, L, OT)

If the playoffs were to start today, the Dallas Stars would take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round.

Sixteen teams will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The top three teams in each division make up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots will be filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference, based on regular-season record and regardless of division.  

In the First Round, the division winner with the best record in each conference will be matched against the wild-card team with the lesser record; the wild card team with the better record will play the other division winner.

The teams finishing second and third in each division will meet in the First Round within the bracket headed by their respective division winners.

First-round winners within each bracket play one another in the Second Round to determine the four participants in the Conference Finals.

Home-ice advantage through the first two rounds goes to the team that placed higher in the regular-season standings. In the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final, home-ice advantage goes to the team that had the better regular-season record – regardless of the teams’ final standing in their respective divisions.

Follow more Dallas Stars coverage at wfaa.com/stars. 

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