Calgary Flames defeat Dallas Stars 4-2
Steve Staios recorded a game-winning goal in the final stanza, as the Calgary Flames edged past the Dallas Stars 4-2, at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday night.
Olli Jokinen and Tom Kostopoulos also lit the lamp for Calgary, who have won two consecutive games. Miikka Kiprusoff finished with 24 saves and Cory Sarich added another goal in the win.
Jamie Lagenbrunner and Mike Ribeiro both found the net for the struggling Dallas Stars, who have dropped three games in a row and nine of 11 overall. Kari Lehtonen was dented for four goals on 31 shots in the loss.
The Flames got the scoring started to take a 1-0 lead almost four minutes into the opening frame. The goal came when Mark Giordano fired a shot from just above the left circle and Jokinen deflected the shot past Lehtonen's outstretched leg.
Jokinen was also involved in the second goal of the game just seven and a half minutes into the second period, but unluckily it was not for his own team. The Stars were on the charge and Ribeiro slipped the puck that was meant to be a centring pass however, it caromed off of Jokinen's skate and into the net to tie the scores at 1-1.
Dallas then went ahead by 2-1 on another lucky bounce midway through the second quarter. James Neal ripped a shot from the right circle, which was redirected by a stick into the left circle, where Langenbrunner knocked it into wide open net. Calgary knotted the game again at 2-2 on a power play with nearly six minutes remaining in the middle frame, thanks to Kostopoulos' slap shot from the right point.
However, the Flames struck again to take a 3-2 lead just two and a half minutes into the final stanza, as Sarich slammed a rising shot which clipped the crossbar and went in. Calgary then doubled their advantage at 4-2, with a short-handed insurance goal almost two minutes later. Rene Bourque led a rush and passed the puck to Staios, who blasted a low shot into the net for his second goal of the season.
From there, the Flames held on the rest of the way as Kiprusoff made 11 saves in the last few minutes.
Calgary Head Coach Brent Sutter praised his team after the game. He said, "It was really important to have that good start in the third, because we kind of dropped off in the second. We were fired up to get out there in the third, to get those two goals early is nice."
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