Vegas' playoff hopes dire after SO loss to Stars

DALLAS (AP) — Miro Heiskanen made the only shot in a seven-round shootout after Jason Robertson scored twice to reach the 40-goal mark, and the Dallas Stars are on the verge of finally clinching a playoff spot.

The Vegas Golden Knights aren't done yet, but are close to missing the postseason for the first time in their brief franchise history.

Jake Oettinger, who had 33 saves through overtime, made one last stop in the shootout after Heiskanen's back-handed tally as the Stars got a 3-2 victory over Vegas on Tuesday night.

“We taught him a lot by practicing on him,” Stars center Tyler Seguin said of the young goalie. "He’s worked hard at shootouts and you know how good he’s gotten at them. That’s all from his determination and practice, and it was huge for us.”

With Nashville claiming one of the Western Conference's two wild-card spots despite its overtime loss at home Tuesday, that leaves one spot for either the Stars or Golden Knights. Dallas and Nashville both have 95 points, but the Predators hold all tiebreakers over Dallas and Vegas (91 points).

“We’ve still got a pulse. We’re not eliminated,” Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. “I’m proud of our group. They came in and played one hell of a road game. We got the lead, it was up again, had some chances to win the game and we just didn’t finish. You have to give their goalie some credit.”

The Stars need just a single point over their last two games to get that other wild-card spot. In order for the Golden Knights to reach the playoffs, they have to win their last two games and Dallas would have to lose both games in regulation.

Vegas made the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season in 2017-18 and has been in the playoffs the past three seasons.

Oettinger had a