In Chicago, the visiting Dallas Stars laid am egg on a night they might have clinched a playoff berth.
Instead, they dropped a 6-1 decision to cling to a one-point lead for the wild card.
“We obviously didn’t like the effort tonight,” Stars forward Jason Spezza said. “Just the way we executed. We made some mistakes we haven’t made in a long time. We have a game tomorrow. We can refocus tomorrow morning, get back at it tomorrow, get a win, and head in [to the playoffs] on a good note.”
The Stars are 4-1-1 and picked a bad night to lose in regulation.
“We just want to make sure we’re playing the right way, playing to our identity,” Stars head coach Jim Montgomery said. “If we do that, we give ourselves a real good chance and get to get positive outcomes.”
Patrick Kane scored twice for the Blackhawks.
“I think we had a good team,” Kane said. “I think we had a team that maybe could have surprised some people in the playoffs too. That’s the way it goes though. You might have a good team, but if you don’t get it done, you’re not going to be playing. So it’s disappointing.”
Corey Crawford got the start for Chciago but departed the match in the middle frame with a groin injury; he made nine saves.
Cam Ward finished the game and made 25 saves.
“Tonight was great, well all year round it’s been great, but tonight was great too,” Kane said. “Just kind of the wherewithal (of the fans) to have the presence of mind to be whistling at the end and kind of showing thanks for the season even though we obviously didn’t have the season we wanted.”
Joel L’Esperance scored the lone Stars’ goal.
Dominik Kahun, Dominik Kahun, Dylan Strome, and Slater Koekkoek added single markers for the Hawks.
“Guys were just hopeful, I think it was going in, it crossed the line,” Kunitz said. “But you could see the celebration, they all kind of pulled me there. It was great to be able to score one.”
[WATCH: All Stars vs. Blackhawks highlights]
Anton Khudobin made 26 saves in the loss.
“You’d like to be playing well, we have been playing well, and I think we’ll get over tonight pretty quick,” Tyler Seguin said after the dismal loss. “Obviously, I think we were all looking too far ahead going into tonight. Feel bad for our goalie. [Anton Khudobin’s] done a lot for us this year and would’ve liked a better showing in front of him tonight, but we’ll regroup pretty quick here and finish off strong, especially at home, tomorrow night.”
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