The St Louis Blues held off a late surge by the Chicago Blackhawks to wrap up the Western Conference's Central division in the NHL on Thursday.
Dmitrij Jaskin and Paul Stastny scored for the Blues in their 2-1 victory against Chicago, as they moved three points clear of the Nashville Predators at the top of the Central standings with one game remaining in the regular season.
Nashville lost 4-2 to the Minnesota Wild after giving up a two-goal lead, with Jason Zucker scoring twice for the victors.
St Louis' win also maintained their hopes of being crowned the West's conference champions, as they moved level with Pacific-leaders the Anaheim Ducks on 107 points.
After a goalless first period in St Louis, the home side opened the scoring in the 18th minute of the middle stanza through Jaskin.
Stastny then doubled the Blues' advantage with less than six minutes remaining in the final period and although Andrew Shaw pulled a goal back for the Blackhawks in the 18th minute, the visitors were unable to force overtime.
Elsewhere in the Central division, the Winnipeg Jets secured a spot in the NHL play-offs, despite a 1-0 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
The Jets will have a tilt at the Stanley Cup for the first time in eight seasons, after the Calgary Flames defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-1.
That result ended the Kings' play-off hopes.
The Ottawa Senators defeated Presidents' Trophy-winners the New York Rangers 3-0 to keep their play-offs campaign going.
With both wildcard spots still up for grabs in the Eastern Conference, the Senators are in pole position with 97 points, just ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins (96) and the Boston Bruins (95).
The Bruins suffered a 4-2 loss at the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
Atlantic champions the Montreal Canadiens defeated divisional rivals the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in overtime, while the San Jose Sharks overcame the Edmonton Oilers 3-1.
The Tampa Bay Lightning also needed an extra period to account for the New Jersey Devils 4-3 and the Vancouver Canucks thumped the Arizona Coyotes 5-0.