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Flames try to stay hot against visiting Stars

Feb 16, 2011 - 4:14 PM (Sports Network) - The Flames have used an excellent 12-game run to jump into the playoff picture, a span that began with a high-scoring victory over the Stars. Calgary would love to extend the tear with a third straight victory over Dallas this evening at the Saddledome.

The Flames currently sit eighth in the Western Conference with 66 points thanks to a 9-1-2 run that began with a 7-4 victory over the Stars on Jan. 21. Calgary is two points back of seventh-place San Jose and is one point up on both Minnesota and Los Angeles.

David Moss had a pair of tallies and an assist, while Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen were among the goal scorers when the Flames last faced the Stars. That victory gave Calgary a win in five of its last eight versus Dallas, but was just its second in the last seven at home against the franchise.

The line of Jokinen, Moss and Curtis Glencross exploded in Monday's 9-1 victory over the Avalanche. Jokinen matched a club record with four points in the first period off a goal and three assists, Moss set a career high with four points on a goal and three helpers and Curtis Glencross scored twice to give him a goal in five straight contests, with six in that span.

"We can't afford to give any games away, and it was really good to get this one. They were probably a little flat early. Once we got those goals, we knew it would be hard for them to come back," said Moss, who scored 18 seconds into the game for one of five Calgary first-period goals.

Jokinen was the first Flames skater with four points in the first period since Al MacInnis did so on March 28, 1991, but he did leave the game after taking a knee-to-knee shot from Colorado's Philippe Dupuis in the first period. He is day-to-day, as is defenseman Tim Jackman after he suffered a lower-body injury in the second period against Colorado.

Iginla also scored twice and Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 17-of-18 shots before backup Henrik Karlsson played the final six minutes and 36 seconds of the game.

Kiprusoff is 3-1-1 with a 1.75 goals-against average in his last five versus the Stars and is likely to get the call again tonight in the opener of a five- game homestand. Calgary is 5-0-2 in its last seven as the host.

That isn't good news for the Stars, who are 2-7-1 since a five-game win streak in mid-January and are now tied for second place in the Pacific Division at 68 points with the Ducks and Sharks. The Coyotes are in first place with 69 points.

Dallas began a three-game swing through western Canada last night with a 4-1 loss to the NHL's worst club, the Edmonton Oilers. The Stars have now lost five straight as the guest after a franchise-record eight-game road winning streak, getting outscored 27-10 in that span.

Brad Richards, who leads the Stars with 39 assists and 63 points, did not travel with the club due to an upper-body injury suffered versus the Blue Jackets on Sunday. He was among six players who missed last night's loss due to injury, but center Toby Peterson did return from a 16-game absence caused by a leg injury.

"It's easy to go behind that we have guys hurt, but we have a lot better team than we've shown the last couple games," said Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen, who allowed all four goals on 30 shots.

Loui Eriksson had the lone goal and Lehtonen notched his fifth assist of the season to match a club record held by Ed Belfour and Marty Turco.

Dallas may go with Lehtonen in back-to-back games after Andrew Raycroft gave up all seven goals on 19 shots versus the Flames in January, one of his four starts since Jan. 1. He is 1-4-0 with a 4.40 GAA versus Calgary, while Lehtonen is 2-1-1 with a 2.94 GAA.