Wild 5, Stars 3
Antti Miettinen's goal early in the third period lifted Minnesota to a 5-3 win over visiting Dallas on Sunday, eliminating the Stars from playoff contention.
Miettinen potted his 16th goal of the season at 6:47 of the third period to break a 3-3 tie and leave Dallas (42-29-11) on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture. The Stars needed a regulation or overtime win to seize eighth place in the conference ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, who fell 4-3 to Detroit earlier in the day.
The Stars loss means the Blackhawks will defend their Stanley Cup championship beginning with a first-round series against the Vancouver Canucks.
Brad Staubitz, Jared Spurgeon and Colton Gillies had goals for Minnesota (39-35-8), which trailed 2-1 after two periods but battled back to take the lead with second-period goals nearly five minutes apart. Pierre-Marc Bouchard added an unassisted empty-netter, marking the final goal of the NHL's regular season.
Brad Richards, Brenden Morrow and Alex Goligoski countered for the Stars, who will miss the postseason despite finishing with 95 points. It's the best showing by a non-playoff team since the Colorado Avalanche missed the playoffs with 95 points in 2006-07.