Dennard, who played college football at Nebraska, is s

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. Reggie White Jersey . Russell Wilson against Darrelle Revis, former teammate Brandon Browner and whatever schemes Bill Belichick dreams up. Green Bay Packers Jerseys . Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/Customized/ . But the young forward is more than willing to shed a little blood if thats what it takes to make the team this season. "It caught me pretty good, dazed me for that shift, but I didnt want to be off the ice for too long," he said after practice, his lip still bleeding a little despite the plastic stitches holding it together. Ray Nitschke Jersey . Both had to wait out a rain interruption lasting nearly five hours before taking comprehensive third-round victories to join Carling Bassett-Seguso (1983, 1986), Patricia Hy-Boulais (1996-97) and Daniel Nestor (1999) as Canadians who made it into the second week of a major. Brett Favre Jersey . -- Josh MacDonalds second goal of the game kept his team alive as the Peterborough Petes edged the host Kingston Frontencas 6-5 in overtime on Friday in Ontario Hockey League playoff action. LINCOLN, Neb. -- A judge handed New England Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard another year of probation and 30 additional days in jail Thursday as a result of a drinking-and-driving incident in Nebraska last summer. Dennard last April was sentenced to two years of probation and 30 days in jail for assaulting a police officer outside a Lincoln bar in 2012. He admitted he violated his probation three months later when he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. Lancaster County District Court Judge Stephanie Stacy extended his probation from two to three years and his jail term from 30 to 60 days. He is to report to the county jail March 1. She also barred him from consuming or possessing alcohol and increased his mandatory community service from 200 to 300 hours, with half of the additional 100 hours to be performed in Nebraska. Stacy could have revoked Dennards probation and sent him to jail. "This is your last chance," Stacy told him. Dennard, who played college football at Nebraska, is scheduled to appear in county court on Friday for a hearing on the July drunken-driving case.dddddddddddd Dennard apologized for violating probation and letting his family and teammates down. He said probation and counselling will help him to "keep learning how to walk that straight line." Dennard declined to comment outside the courtroom. His attorney, Alan Stoler, said he was satisfied with the outcome. During the hearing, Stacy noted she had received letters from Massachusetts authorities praising Dennards positive attitude about community service. "Hes learned a tremendous amount from the process," Stoler said. "As the judge read from the letters, this wasnt something Alfonzo took lightly. Its affected him in a positive way, things that hes been able to do." Prosecutor Bruce Prenda requested that Dennards probation be revoked, but he said the state would be agreeable to a modified probation term if it included the no-alcohol provision. Stacy noted that Dennard had not come up positive in tests initiated in August for alcohol and other controlled substances. ' ' '