John Klingberg scored the go-ahead goal at 1:12 of the third period, and the Dallas Stars held on for a 2-1 victory against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday in Game 5 of a Western Conference first-round playoff series in Edmonton.
The third-seeded Stars took their first lead in the best-of-seven series, going ahead three games to two. They can advance with a victory in Game 6 on Thursday.
Jamie Benn scored a short-handed goal for Dallas, and goaltender Anton Khudobin made 28 saves.
Mikael Backlund scored for sixth-seeded Calgary, and goalie Cam Talbot stopped 30 of 32 shots.
On the go-ahead goal, Dallas' Mattias Janmark dug the puck out from behind the Calgary net and wheeled into the left faceoff circle before passing to Klingberg at the right point. Klingberg carried the puck to the top of the faceoff circle before unleashing a wrist shot that eluded Talbot's catching glove and made its way just inside the right post.
Dallas opened the scoring at 10:13 of the first period with Calgary on the power play. After the Flames lost control of the puck in their offensive zone, Tyler Seguin started a two-on-two break down the left wing. Seguin backhanded a centering pass for Benn at the top of the crease, and Benn tapped the puck in before crashing into the net and dislodging it from its moorings.
The Flames tied the score at 1-1 with 46 seconds left in the first period. Backlund tracked down the puck in the right corner and tried to make a centering pass. The puck bounced back to Backlund, who wheeled back to the top of the right faceoff circle and then, having shaken off a Dallas defender, scored on a wrist shot through traffic.
It was Dallas' first victory in the series by a score of something other than 5-4. The Stars won Game 2 in regulation and Game 4 in overtime, both by that count.
--Field Level Media
Calgary | Dallas | |
Mikael Backlund 1 | Points | Jamie Benn 1 |
Mikael Backlund 1 | Goals | Jamie Benn 1 |
Mikael Backlund 0 | Assists | Mattias Janmark 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | Jamie Benn 1 |
Cam Talbot .938 | Save Percentage | Anton Khudobin .966 |
Cam Talbot 30 | Saves | Anton Khudobin 28 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Calgary | 29 | 1 | 0-4 | 2-2 | 4 | 28 |
Dallas | 32 | 2 | 0-2 | 4-4 | 8 | 21 |