Division-Winning Stars Chase Conference Title

Dallas clinched the Central Division championship Wednesday night, then turned its attention to the loftier goal of overtaking Colorado for the top spot in the Western Conference.

Benoit Hogue’s goal with 32.6 seconds to play broke a tie and led the Stars to a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders. It wrapped up the Central Division title for the Stars, who are unbeaten in their last 11 games and have won seven in a row, matching the longest winning streak in franchise history.

The victory gave the Stars a club-record 100 points, three fewer than the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche.

“With six games left, we’ve got Colorado on our minds,” said Hogue, the former Islander whose 20-foot wrist shot from the right circle glanced off New York goalie Tommy Salo’s stick and into the net for his 18th goal of the season.

Colorado 5, Calgary 1--Colorado’s Peter Forsberg recorded his first three-goal game of the season, leading the Avalanche to a win at Calgary and maintaining its three-point lead over Dallas in the West.

Forsberg scored late in the first period, then again early in the second, and the Avalanche got four goals in a span of less than seven minutes to take a 4-0 lead.

Forsberg completed his hat trick with 27 seconds to play in the second period, tipping in a shot from Adam Foote.

Ottawa 2, Buffalo 0--Shaun Van Allen and Bruce Gardiner scored the game’s only goals and Ron Tugnutt was hardly tested, facing only 15 shots in his first shutout in more than three years. The Senators’ win at Buffalo pushed them ahead of Hartford for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Montreal 4, Hartford 1--Stephane Quintal and Mark Recchi scored in a 53-second span late in the first period for the Canadiens, who won at Hartford for their third victory in their last four games.

Toronto 3, Florida 1--Felix Potvin made 33 saves for the Maple Leafs, who ran their unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1) by winning at Toronto, though they have been mathematically eliminated from the playoff race.