The Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild are heading back to the playoffs.

The Stars punched their ticket with a 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Monday. The Wild clinched by picking up a point in a shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, combined with Nashville's loss.

It's the second straight year and fourth time in the last five seasons that the Stars made the playoffs.

Minnesota, meanwhile, earned a postseason berth for a fourth straight year and 10th time in the last 11 campaigns.

The Stars and Wild are the first two teams from the Central Division to clinch playoff spots, but the Colorado Avalanche likely won't be too far behind. Dallas and Minnesota are tied for the division lead at 98 points, while the Avalanche are just two points behind with two games in hand on each club.

Colorado can clinch as early as Tuesday night. After that, the Seattle Kraken, Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, and Predators will need to battle it out for the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference.

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