Benn
nets pair to carry Stars past Flames
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[November 11, 2016]
CALGARY, Alberta -- Not
surprisingly, Jamie Benn's season-opening slump has coincided with
early struggles for the Dallas Stars.
But on Thursday, the team's captain showed signs of life and doubled
his season goal total by scoring twice to lead Dallas past the
Calgary Flames 4-2.
Lauri Korpikoski and Antoine Roussel, into an empty net, also scored
for the Stars (5-6-3), who have just two wins in their past eight
games.
"It seems I go through a streak like that every year," Benn said.
"There are things you have to work through and learn from and it
feels good to get two (goals) but it feels a lot better that we
won."
Johnny Gaudreau scored twice for the Flames (5-9-1), who have lost
three in a row and five of their past six.
Benn snapped a 2-2 tie when he converted off a feed from Tyler
Seguin on the power play at 7:20 of the third period.
The NHL scoring champion two years ago, Benn started slow with two
goals through 13 games coming in to Thursday after potting 41 in
2015-16 and 35 and 34, respectively, the seasons before that.
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Seguin told reporters after the morning skate that he was going to
try and set up Benn to help get him out of his slide and he did.
"(Jamie) was really buzzing out there tonight," said Seguin, who
leads the Stars with 15 points. "It is what we needed. He's our
captain and we need him to lead the way, especially after an
embarrassing loss the other night."
The Stars are trying to gain some traction after starting a slide on
Oct. 27 when they were beaten 4-1 by the Winnipeg Jets in Winnipeg.
They were back in Winnipeg on Tuesday and were thumped again 8-2,
sending them to Calgary in poor spirits.
"This win is a good confidence for this group. This wasn't easy. We
grinded one out here tonight. We got to learn as a group here that
every night you've got to bring it," Benn said.
Gaudreau likewise was struggling offensively and faced criticism for
the first time in his three seasons in Calgary. He scored only twice
in the first 14 games after signing a six-year, $40.5 million
contract the day before the regular season began after scoring 30 to
lead the Flames in 2015-16.
"It's nice to find the net but that's not what the game is about.
It's about winning as a team. It's a tough loss," Gaudreau said.
The Flames changed coaches prior to this season after a woeful
2015-16, but new man Glen Gulutzan has not found a way to light a
fire. Special teams has not performed well and on Thursday night the
power play was 0-for-4. They had a late chance in the third period
after Dallas was caught with too many men on the ice but nothing
came of it.
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![](../images/111116pics/sports77.jpg)
Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14) celebrates his goal with teammates
against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Scotiabank
Saddledome. Dallas Stars won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Sergei
Belski-USA TODAY Sports
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"We're finding ways to lose," Gulutzan said. "There are certain
things that we are doing well but we need somebody to step up and
stop the bleeding. That's really what we need."
The Stars grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period. Korpikoski snapped
a shot over Brian Elliott's glove at 12:31 and Benn followed at
15:35 when he tucked a backhander inside the post to Elliott's stick
side while on the move in the high slot.
The Flames got on the board at 1:33 of the second when Brett Kulak's
shot got behind Kari Lehtonen and stopped near the post, where
Gaudreau found it and pushed it across the goal line. Gaudreau then
tipped in Kulak's slapper at 3:31.
NOTES: LW Patrick Sharp (concussion symptoms) skated with the Stars
on Thursday morning, indicating he is close to returning after
missing the past 10 games. He could play Saturday in Vancouver. ...
Also absent from the Dallas lineup with injuries: C Jason Spezza
(lower body), C Cody Eakin (knee), RW Jiri Hudler (illness), C
Mattias Janmark (knee) and RW Ales Hemsky (hip). Healthy scratches
were D Patrik Nemeth and D Esa Lindell. ... Calgary's star RW Johnny
Gaudreau entered the game with the NHL's worst plus-minus rating at
minus 11. A big chunk of that was a minus four Oct. 22 in a loss to
the St. Louis Blues. ... The Flames summoned RW Linden Vey from
Stockton of the AHL on Thursday to replace rookie RW Matthew
Tkachuk, who injured his wrist in practice on Wednesday. Also out
with injuries for Calgary were RW Kris Versteeg (groin) and C Lance
Bouma (upper body). Their lone healthy scratch was D Dennis Wideman.
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