Red Wings 3, Stars 0: Captain Henrik Zetterberg scored two goals and set up another while Jimmy Howard made 17 saves en route to his second shutout in four games as visiting Detroit clinched a playoff spot for the 22nd consecutive season.

Defenseman Jonathan Ericsson also tallied and Pavel Datsyuk collected three assists for the Red Wings, who ended the regular season with four straight victories. Detroit finished seventh in the Western Conference and will face the Pacific Division champion Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the playoffs.

Zetterberg opened the scoring late in the first period and doubled Detroit's advantage 1:57 into the third, when he raced in on a breakaway and backhanded the puck between Richard Bachman's pads. Ericsson beat a screened Bachman with a wrist shot from the top of the slot at 6:30 to seal the victory.

Howard turned aside nine shots in the first period and four in each of the final two sessions for his 16th career shutout and fifth this season.

Bachman finished with 34 saves for the Stars, who closed the campaign with a 1-5-1 slide.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Several media outlets have reported that Dallas will replace general manager Joe Nieuwendyk with Detroit assistant GM Jim Nill after the season. Nieuwendyk was named the Stars GM in May 2009. Nill has spent 15 years in his current position with the Red Wings. ... Zetterberg's multi-goal performance was his third of the season. ... Detroit D Niklas Kronwall registered a game-high four blocked shots.