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Benn lifts Stars over Flames in shootout

Mar 5, 2012 - 3:32 AM Calgary, AB (Sports Network) - Jamie Benn scored the deciding goal in the first round of the shootout as the Dallas Stars edged the Calgary Flames, 3-2, on Sunday at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Benn picked up the puck and swung way out wide to the right. He cut across the goal mouth and beat Flames' netminder Miikka Kiprusoff to the stick side.

Loui Eriksson sealed it in the second round when he went wide to the left and squeezed it through the five hole of Kiprusoff. Kari Lehtonen stopped Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay to end the shootout.

Eriksson added a goal and an assist in regulation, while Michael Ryder also scored for the Stars, who have won six of their last seven games. Lehtonen made 36 saves and contributed an assist in the victory.

"We had guys step up," Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan said. "Otter[Steve Ott] did against [Curtis] Glencross, Shelby [Sheldon Souray] did too, it's a playoff atmosphere and we had to make sure we weren't going to get pushed around and we had those guys that did it and they did an excellent job."

Glencross and Jarome Iginla scored for the Flames, who have lost six of seven. Kiprusoff gave up two goals on 40 shots in defeat.

After a scoreless first period which saw Lehtonen make 13 saves and Kiprusoff stop nine shots, Calgary opened the scoring at 7:18 of the second period.

Holding the puck behind the Stars net, Jay Bouwmeester outworked two Stars defenders and backhanded a pass out front to Glencross, who easily put it past Lehtonen to give his team the lead.

Dallas evened the score while shorthanded at 14:59 of the second period after Eriksson collected the loose puck on the left wing and gained the blue line with speed. He then shifted to his backhand and put the puck between the legs of Kiprusoff.

The Stars took the lead with a power-play tally at the 18:26 mark of the second period. Mike Ribeiro brought the puck into the offensive zone on the rush and glided toward the left wing wall. Ribeiro drew two defenders before slipping the puck to Eriksson in the slot and he found Ryder, who jammed it home from in close.

Calgary fought back to tie it at three at the eight-minute mark of the third period when Tanguay ripped a shot from the left point that hit off of Mike Cammalleri in front and deflected right to the stick of Iginla, who tapped it home.

After Cammalleri was whistled for hooking at 2:11 of the overtime period, Dallas was given a 4-on-3 power play. The Stars got some excellent chances to score, but were unable to get anything past Kiprusoff.

"The momentum changer in the second period was the shorthanded goal," Flames head coach Brent Sutter said. "We regrouped after the second and we battled hard in the third, we got it equaled up in the third."

Game Notes

Calgary fell to 5-3-6 record versus the Pacific Division this season...Dallas improved to 8-0-1 record against teams from Canada this season and a 10-3-0 against Northwest Division teams...Stars center Tom Wandell played in his 300th career NHL game...Flames forward Blake Comeau sat out with an upper-body injury.