DALLAS -- Trevor Daley wore a cowboy hat with a Dallas Stars logo and smiled through a swollen lip from a puck he took to the face a couple of nights earlier. Six years of waiting are finally over for the Dallas defenceman. Daley had a goal and an assist, Kari Lehtonen recorded his fifth shutout of the season, and the Stars clinched their first playoff berth since 2008 with a 3-0 victory against the St. Louis Blues on Friday night. "Im having trouble smiling, and I just cant stop smiling right now," said Daley, who took 20 stitches after a loss to Columbus on Wednesday. "Weve been battling hard for a long time. Its just kind of like a little bit of a relief." The Stars missed the post-season a franchise-record five straight seasons after never going more than one without a playoff trip since moving to Dallas in 1993. The longest previous drought was three seasons in Minnesota in the early 1970s. St. Louis, outshot 40-22, dropped its fifth straight game for the first time since February of last year. The playoff-bound Blues also had their hopes of being the top seed in the Western Conference dashed. "They played a very fast game ... very desperate," Blues defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk said. "They played to get into the playoffs and they really showed it, and we need to get more of that into our game, as well." Daley, the only holdover from the team that lost to Detroit in the Western Conference finals six years ago, and Lehtonen were on the ice three years ago for a season-ending loss at Minnesota when Dallas just needed to win to move on. Dallas victory eliminated Phoenix in the race for the Wests final playoff spot and kept the Stars from having to worry about a potential win-or-go-home game at the Coyotes on Sunday. "Im old enough that I dont think about those kinds of things too much," Lehtonen said. "Not too much was needed from me. Our guys outshot them two to one and put the pucks in the net, so that made it a lot easier for me." Daley put Dallas up 1-0 when he stole the puck during a series of St. Louis turnovers and raced ahead of everyone before beating Ryan Miller on the glove side early in the second period. Tyler Seguins team-leading 37th goal came on the power play 10 seconds after the Blues Dmitrij Jaskin was called for hooking. Daley sent a pass to Jamie Benn, who zipped his second assist through the crease to an open Seguin for an easy shot past Miller. After Ryan Garbutt tipped in Alex Goligoskis shot from the point in the third period of the home finale, the last 15 minutes were basically a celebration for the sellout crowd that included a fan with a No. 99 jersey that read "Stanley" -- a reference to the franchises only Stanley Cup title in 1999 when the hockey playoffs were a rite of spring in North Texas. St. Louis didnt get a power play until the third period and couldnt convert on two chances with the man advantage in the final 12 minutes. After the Stars killed the last one, the crowd stood and cheered for the final two minutes, counting down the last few seconds. "I thought the atmosphere was just playoff-like," said Lindy Ruff, the former Buffalo coach brought in by first-year general manager Jim Nill, who got quite a present for his 56th birthday. "The energy, after the third goal went in, its like everybody else took a breath too, We got some breathing room; Order me another beer!" The Blues knew T.J. Oshie would be sidelined after he took a hit to the head that resulted in a four-game suspension for Minnesotas Mike Rupp. They also missed former Stars captain Brenden Morrow, who injured his foot in practice before the Wild game, and Vladimir Sobotka and Derek Roy, who got hurt during that game. St. Louis lost centre Patrik Berglund to an apparent arm injury in the third period against the Stars. NOTES: Taylor Lipsett, a Dallas-area resident who won a 2014 Paralympic gold medal with the U.S. in Sochi, was honoured before the game. ... The Stars signed popular broadcasters Ralph Strangis and Daryl Reaugh to contract extensions. Strangis, the play-by-play voice, has been with the franchise since it was still in Minnesota, and colour analyst Reaugh is in his 18th season with the team. ... Because of the rash of injuries, the Blues recalled Adam Cracknell, Keith Aucoin and Ty Rattie from their Chicago AHL affiliate. Mike Matheny Cardinals Jersey . For the Athletics, hes extremely important at the top of the order, especially with Coco Crisp hurting. Jaso drove in three runs Sunday night, helping Scott Kazmir and Oakland beat the Texas Rangers 9-3. Genesis Cabrera Cardinals Jersey . As future stars prepare to make the big leap to the professional ranks, TSNs Draft Week delivers wall-to-wall coverage of both the NHL and NBA Entry Drafts, highlighted by exclusive live coverage of both events. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/904t-miles-mikolas-jersey-cardinals.html .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at LeBron James and the Miami Heat winning their second straight NBA championship. St. Louis Cardinals Pro Shop . -- Marty Havlat scored three goals for the first time in nearly nine years, and the San Jose Sharks prevented Colorado from clinching the Central Division title with a 5-1 victory over the Avalanche on Friday night. Marcell Ozuna Cardinals Jersey . Wiggins, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward who plays his first exhibition game on Wednesday against Pitt State, was the top prospect in the class of 2013.PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Gary Bettman has always been careful not to get fans hopes up in cities that want an NHL franchise. That continued Tuesday when the commissioner reiterated the league has no official expansion plans in the offing. It wont happen for the 2014-15 season and maybe not even in 2015-16, but that hasnt stopped the calls from pouring in. "Were getting lots of expressions of interest, and no decisions have been made to do anything other than listen," Bettman said after the leagues board of governors meeting wrapped up. We havent embarked on a formal expansion process, but when people want to talk to us, we listen." If the NHL listens and decides to move forward with expanding at some point in the near future, Quebec City, Seattle and Toronto figure to be the front-runners. But Bettman insisted theres no ranking of potential cities and that no decision has been made to expand. Thats despite uneven conferences right now -- 16 teams in the East and 14 in the West -- that deputy commissioner Bill Daly conceded was a bit of misalignment. Getting up to 32 would make for four divisions of eight teams each and solve the disparity in playoff odds. It seems like a natural move, especially considering the expansion fees the NHL could get. But Bettman said a few things must be looked at before considering a place. "When theres an expression of interest, you look at three factors predominately, show-stoppers so to speak," he said. "You want to understand the market and can it support NHL hockey? Would it be a good addition to the league? Two, youve got to have an arena andd three, and perhaps most important, it comes down to ownership.dddddddddddd" Ownership is one of the keys to the NHLs success in the big picture. Bettman was quick to point to negative attention around the Phoenix Coyotes and how theyve been sold along with the Florida Panthers and New Jersey Devils within the past six months. "My my, how far weve come since the summer, when all the articles and speculation were about all these franchises that were supposedly in trouble, which we never believed were," Bettman said. "The franchises have never been stronger. So we went from relocation in your view and distress to now we should be expanding. Everybody needs to slow down. We dont operate like that. Everything in due course. If, in fact, theres a due course to pursue." The city of Markham, Ontario, recently struck down plans to build an NHL-ready arena as the league made it clear it should not happen with the hopes of getting a team. An arena is being built in Quebec City, and one could be on the way in Seattle to lure an NBA team, as well. "I clearly have acknowledged that the Pacific Northwest has a strong interest in hockey," Daly said of the Seattle expansion possibility. As of now everything is just a possibility. But just drawing interest isnt a bad thing. "The fact is there are lots of expressions of interest from lots of different places and thats great, its gratifying," Bettman said. "It shows the business and the game are healthy because there is so much interest and people want to be a part of the game and invest in the game." ' ' '