Saturday, March 15, 2014
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Flames wipe out deficit, top Stars in shootout

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[March 15, 2014]  DALLAS — The Calgary Flames ended the Dallas Stars' three-game winning streak in improbable fashion, scoring twice in the final 7:09 of regulation to force overtime and then pulling out a 4-3 victory in a shootout on Friday night before a sellout crowd at the American Airlines Center.

Flames center Corban Knight had the deciding goal for Calgary in the shootout. Knight, the Flames' fourth shooter, beat Stars goalie Tim Thomas with a wrister top shelf for the clincher.

"It was pretty nice to kind of have the coach tap you and get a chance to help the team out, so it was pretty cool," Knight said.

Calgary center Michael Cammalleri scored twice and center Joe Colborne added two assists.

Flames goalie Joey MacDonald made 22 saves in his first start since Nov. 1, 2013. He turned away three of Dallas' four shootout attempts.

Dallas logged the game's first seven shots before Colborne put a backhand on the Dallas net 8:07 into the game. The Flames then outshot the Stars 10-2 in the final 11:53 of the first period.

However, the Stars scored the first of three goals in the second period just 13 seconds in when left winger Antoine Roussel rifled a wrister past MacDonald to make it 1-0. Roussel's shot from the left circle zoomed over MacDonald's glove and off the far post for his 12th goal of the season.


Calgary tied it, albeit briefly, when Cammalleri beat Thomas top shelf at 6:20 of the second. Colborne picked up the primary assist by digging the puck out of the corner and feeding Cammalleri, who converted from the left circle for his 18th goal of the season.

Cammalleri now has a goal in three consecutive games.

But Dallas answered twice to lead 3-1 after two periods.

The first goal came from defenseman Jordie Benn, who scored his 27th of the season on a tap-in at 14:16 with the primary assist going to defenseman Trevor Daley.

The Stars then made it 3-1 at 16:29 when left winger Erik Cole deflected a shot from the right point by defenseman Brenden Dillon over MacDonald's glove for Cole's 16th of the season. Stars rookie center Travis Morin, who was recalled from AHL Texas on Friday morning, picked up his first NHL point with the secondary assist on the goal.

MacDonald turned away a wrister from Stars center Tyler Seguin on a breakaway 1:39 into the third period with a pad save. MacDonald also denied a bid from Morin for his first NHL goal at close range at 2:20 of the third.

Calgary cut it to 3-2 when center Paul Byron scored a power-play goal with 7:09 remaining in regulation. Flames left winger Curtis Glencross fed a wide-open Byron in front of the Dallas net and he converted top shelf for his fourth goal of the season.

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The Flames went on the power play with 8:21 remaining when Dallas defenseman Kevin Connauton was whistled for delay of game after shooting the puck over the boards. It was the first power play for either team.

Cammalleri added a second goal with 4:30 remaining in regulation when he tapped in a blast by defenseman TJ Brodie to tie the score at 3.

"They (Dallas) are a dangerous team, but we never quit and that's what (makes) this group so special," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "They keep going and they don't care what the situation or the score may be. We kept putting pucks and we made some great plays. We scored some very nice goals."

Seeing his team blow a 3-1 lead in the third period did not sit well with Stars coach Lindy Ruff.

"On both goals, we got on the wrong side of the man," Ruff said. "We had some problems defensively. We spent more time in our zone than we needed to. We lost some battles."

Each team registered just one shot in overtime.

Thomas finished with 27 saves for Dallas.

NOTES: Flames C Markus Granlund (upper body), C Jiri Hudler (lower body), RW David Jones (upper body) and D Dennis Wideman (upper body) were scratched. ... Stars C Cody Eakin (lower body), C Shawn Horcoff (upper body), G Kari Lehtonen (concussion), C Rich Peverley (heart) and D Aaron Rome were scratched. Peverley was in attendance for Friday's game, just four days after he collapsed on the bench with a cardiac event in the first period of Monday night's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Peverley was released from the hospital on Thursday and visited his teammates at practice. Peverley received a standing ovation from the crowd when he was shown on the scoreboard in the first period. ... Flames G Joey MacDonald made his first start since Nov. 1, 2013. ... With his first-period goal, Stars C and captain Jamie Benn has a six-game point streak. ... Announced attendance was a sellout of 18,532.

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