Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza each scored to help the Stars to a 2-1 win against the Calgary Flames at American Airlines Center in their final game before the NHL All-Star break. Goalie Antti Niemi made 23 saves, and Benn and Spezza scored 1:20 apart in the second period for Dallas, which went 3-6-2 in January and will not play again until Feb. 2 at the Winnipeg Jets.
Spezza and the Stars capitalized on a Flames turnover inside their own zone at 4:03 of the second to build a 2-0 lead. Mikael Backlund attempted to clear the puck from behind the Calgary net, but it was kept in by John Klingberg, who spotted Spezza alone at the far post for an easy tap-in.
Joe Colborne scored for the Flames, who lost for the third time in the past four games. Calgary had won three in a row against Dallas. Benn scored his 28th goal, tying him with Washington Capitals Alex Ovechkin for second in the NHL, after outmaneuvering Flames goaltender Karri Ramo at 2:43 of the second period. Benn received a backhand pass from Valeri Nichushkin in the slot, and after Kris Russell went to the ice in an attempt to block his shot, Benn flicked a backhand inside the near post just out of Ramo's reach.
Colborne cut the Stars lead in half by roofing a wrist shot to the far post after a backhand pass by Jiri Hudler from behind the Dallas net 1:49 into the third period. Eighteen seconds after he finished serving a tripping penalty, Michael Frolik took advantage of a Klingberg turnover at the Calgary blue line to go in on a breakaway, but Niemi made a pad save on his backhand shot at 3:02 of the first period.
Ramo made 10 of his 28 saves in the scoreless first period.
Calgary had a 6-on-4 advantage for the final 9.4 seconds after Cody Eakin was called for hooking.
Stars Quotes
Jamie Benn: "It was a grind, but we got the job done. Things were going pretty good there until probably about halfway through the second. A couple turnovers and three straight penalties, and gave them momentum. They kind of rode that into the third, and [Niemi] made some big saves."Jason Spezza: "It wasn't a good month for us. We just got away from things for a little bit. Breaks can be helpful. It can be tough coming out of breaks, but the schedule in February and March is pretty much just games, and we're not going to have a lot of practice time. So you use these days and learn to take the rest and keep yourself active, but make sure you're getting rest."
Lindy Ruff: “I thought [Benn] skated well, physically won some battles. Real good play by [Nichushkin] to get [Benn] the puck in the middle of the ice [to] score a great goal, and his legs were moving again. He seemed a different player for me tonight.”
Alex Goligoski: “[Niemi] was awesome. He's the reason why we win tonight."
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