Heika's Take: 'It feels good'

The Stars last season clinched a playoff spot with one game remaining in the regular season.
On Monday, Dallas put an "X" by its name with five games left and also reclaimed first place in the Central Division thanks to a 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators.

"It feels good," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. "That's six months of hard work. If you rewind to the start of the season, a lot of people were picking us as a bubble team. The guys put in a lot of work and it's an accomplishment in this league to punch your ticket for one of those 16 playoff spots. It was a lot of hard work and I'm glad we're in."

The Stars are in a dogfight with Minnesota and Colorado for the top three spots in the division. The top seed will get one of the wildcard teams in the first round, while the second and third seeds will play each other. While DeBoer said the standings will work themselves out, he did emphasize that the team needs to be playing well down the stretch.
Coming off a 5-2 loss in Colorado on Saturday, Dallas responded with a solid home performance. The shots on goal and shot attempts were almost even, but the Stars had a big advantage in scoring chances. That was key for a squad who was trying to give goalie Scott Wedgewood some mental support in his return after a six-week injury hiatus. Wedgewood has been rehabbing his knee and went to the minors to play one warm-up game. It was key to being ready when the puck dropped against the Predators.
"That was a big step going down to Austin and testing it," said Wedgewood, who made 26 saves and moved his record to 8-8-3. "Coming into today, there were no limitations in my mind, and that was a big step for myself."

It was also a big step for the team. Wedgewood gives Dallas the option to rest Jake Oettinger at different points in the final five games, which will be significant in getting the No. 1 goalie ready for post-season play. The fact the 30-year-old was open to the rehab assignment was impressive, DeBoer said.
"I thought Wedgy did a great job," DeBoer said. "After missing that much time, he had to agree to go down and play in the American League to get himself ready. He had the maturity to recognize 'I've been out for a long time. I'm going to do that', and he got in the car and drove three or four hours and had a good start, which I think allowed him to feel comfortable tonight in a real important game. Credit to him, and I think our guys battled hard for him. They knew it was his first game in a long time."
Jason Robertson came up with a goal and three assists and now has 101 points on the season. The 23-year-old winger has posted the fifth best season in franchise history and has five games to add to it. He has tallied more points than anyone since the team moved to Dallas in 1993. That includes Mike Modano, Brad Richards, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.
"One hundred points. Crazy. It was well-deserved," Seguin said of Robertson's milestone. "He's so gifted at producing and shooting and just making players around him better that we're all so pumped for him."

After it was announced that Robertson hit the 100-point mark, the crowd gave him a standing ovation and a loud chant of "Robo, Robo, Robo," echoed throughout the arena.
"It's special," Robertson said of the reaction of the fans. "It was kind of easy to pick up. I'm glad I have an easy nickname to say."

Wedgewood played well and kept the Stars close during a frenetic start to the second period. Dallas took a 1-0 lead on a Roope Hintz goal in the first period and took control of the game with goals by Colin Miller and Joe Pavelski in the second period. Robertson scored his goal midway through the third period and then set up Seguin's goal to make the score 5-0.
"I think it's particularly impressive when you think he missed training camp and he's still such a young player," DeBoer said of a contract dispute that kept Robertson out of camp. "When you think of all the great players who have played for the Dallas Stars, that no one has accomplished that. It's a fantastic accomplishment and I'm sure it's not the last that he'll have."
Wedgewood lost his shutout in the third, but the overall impact was strong, as individuals and the team were feted by fans. It was a strong statement by a team who needed a win at home and needed to keep pace with the red-hot teams in the Central.
"It's been a good year," Seguin said. "It's fun to be in this race for first place in the division, possibly the conference. It's been many years grinding just to get that wildcard spot, and things are a little different this year."
Dallas won one division championship in the past 16 seasons, so just like Robertson's numbers, it could be a historic season.
"In a way, a long time coming," Seguin said. "We've had some good teams in here, but I don't know if we've had the depth we have this season. We haven't wanted to talk about how special it is, but we all feel how special it is and we're excited."
Getting into the playoffs, of course, is just the first step.
"We want that first seed, but you've got to clinch first," Robertson said. "You've got to get that "X" on your name and then you can move forward."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.