THREE HARD LAPS: QUICK HITS FROM TUESDAY

* The Stars became the 12th team to clinch a berth in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, leaving only four spots up for grabs in the final four days of the regular season.

* The Hurricanes and Canadiens gained ground in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race while the Avalanche extended their hold on the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference to four points.

* Bruins forward Brad Marchand became the fifth player to reach 100 points in 2018-19, marking the first time in 12 years five or more players have hit the 100-point mark in the same season.

STARS RETURN TO PLAYOFFS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2016

Alexander Radulov (2-2—4) recorded his second career four-point game and established a new personal high for goals (29-41—70 in 68 GP) to lead the Stars (42-31-7, 91 points) to victory and a berth in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Dallas’ third trip to the postseason in the last six campaigns.

* The Stars last appeared in the postseason in 2015-16, when they advanced to the Second Round before falling to the Blues in seven games. Dallas has played in at least six games in each of its past seven playoff series dating to 2007.

* Dallas is led offensively by the trio of Tyler Seguin (31-46—77), Radulov and Jamie Benn (27-25—52), who have scored 42.4% of the team’s total goals this season. Only Edmonton (51.7%) and Chicago (45.3%) have had its three top-scoring players make up a higher percentage of total team goals.

MARCHAND’S 100TH POINT HELPS BRUINS SECURE HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE

Brad Marchand (1-1—2) posted his fifth multi-point game in seven contests to reach the 100-point milestone for the first time in this career (36-64—100) and help the Bruins (48-23-9, 105 points) secure home-ice advantage in their First Round series against the Maple Leafs.

* Marchand joined Nikita Kucherov (39-86—125), Connor McDavid (41-74—115), Patrick Kane (41-64—105) and Leon Draisaitl (47-55—102) as the fifth player to reach the 100-point mark this season. The 2018-19 campaign marks the first time in 12 years (seven in 2006-07) that five or more players have reached 100 points in a season.

* Marchand became the 13th player to record his first 100-point campaign in his 10th NHL season or later, and the second in as many years after Claude Giroux hit the mark for the first time in his 11th NHL season in 2017-18. Gordie Howe had the longest wait to hit the milestone, recording his lone 100-point campaign in his 23rd NHL season (44-59—103 in 1968-69).

* Additionally, Marchand became just the ninth Bruins player in the last 40 years to record at least 100 points in a season and first since Joe Thornton (36-65—101) in 2002-03.

HURRICANES, CANADIENS GAIN GROUND ON BLUE JACKETS
The Hurricanes (44-29-7, 95 points) and Canadiens (43-29-8, 94 points) each secured victories against playoff-bound teams to gain ground on the Blue Jackets (45-31-4, 94 points) – who fell to the Bruins in regulation – in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race.

* Three different players scored to help Carolina overtake Columbus for the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes improved to 21-16-3 on the road this season to match the highest single-season total in franchise history, a mark set in 1989-90 (21-15-4) and matched in 2005-06 (21-14-6).

* Max Domi (28-43—71) tallied his 28th goal of the season to help the Canadiens defeat the League-leading Lightning (60-16-4, 124 points) and match the point total of the Blue Jackets – who own the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference due to a ROW advantage (CBJ: 44; MTL: 41).

* Montreal, who became just the eighth Eastern Conference team to defeat Tampa Bay in regulation this season, has posted a 23-point improvement on its 2017-18 campaign (29-40-13, 71 points) to mark the third-highest season-to-season improvement in franchise history excluding increases following shortened seasons (1925-26 to 1926-27: +35; 1942-43 to 1943-44: +33).

* All three clubs in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race have two games remaining in their 2018-19 regular-season schedule. The Hurricanesclose out their season with contests against the Devils (April 4) and Flyers (April 6), the Blue Jackets face off against the Rangers (April 5) and Senators (April 6), while the Canadiens play the Capitals (April 4) and Maple Leafs (April 6).

MacKINNON’S 40TH GOAL PROPELS AVALANCHE TO MULTI-GOAL COMEBACK

Nathan MacKinnon (40-57—97) scored his 40th goal of the season to help the Avalanche (37-29-14, 88 points) extend their lead to four points over the Coyotes (38-33-8, 84 points) for the final Wild Card position in the Western Conference standings.

* Colorado’s leading scorer moved within three points of his first career 100-point season and became the 10th player to tally at least 40 goals in 2018-19. The last campaign to conclude with more such performances was 2005-06 (11).

* MacKinnon reached the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career and became the third Avalanche player to record a 40-goal season since the club relocated to Denver. The others: Joe Sakic (1995-96, 1998-99 and 2000-01) and Milan Hejduk (2000-01 and 2002-03).

* Colorado staged the League’s 133rd multi-goal comeback win of 2018-19 – two shy of the single-season NHL record set in 2006-07 (135).

QUICK CLICKS

* Jordan Binnington named Rookie of the Month for March

* Three Stars of the Month: Connor McDavid, Sergei Bobrovsky, Brad Marchand

* NHL linesman Lonnie Cameron works 1,554th and final regular-season game

* Five Questions with NHL on NBC’s Keith Jones

*Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill signs two-year contract

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION

BLUES CHASE ANOTHER RARE FEAT IN CENTRAL DIVISION
The Blues (43-28-8, 94 points), who occupy third place in the Central Division, travel to Chicago to face off against the Blackhawks (34-33-12, 80 points) and continue their improbable quest for a division crown.

* Fresh off becoming the seventh team in the NHL’s expansion era to make the playoffs after ranking last overall in the standings at any point after New Years’ Day (min. 20 GP), the Blues sit two points back of the Central Division-leading Jets (46-30-4, 96 points) and second place Predators (45-29-6, 96 points) with a game in hand.

* Only one team in NHL history has won its division after sitting in last place in the League at any point after its 20th contest: the 2007-08 Capitals sat in last place overall through 30 games on Dec. 11, 2007 before claiming the Southeast Division crown by a two-point edge over the Hurricanes.

* Jordan Binnington has played a crucial role in the Blues’ second-half resurgence and sits at 22-5-1 through 30 appearances in 2018-19 (1.85 GAA, .928 SV%, 5 SO). With a win, Binnington can eclipse Jake Allen (22-7-4 in 2014-15) to establish a franchise record for most wins in a season by a rookie goaltender.