Dallas Stars Win Game 5, Put Flames a Game Away From Elimination

The Dallas Stars win their second game in a row and take a 3-2 series lead against the Calgary Flames.

The Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars started an emotional game on Tuesday afternoon. With the news of Dale Hawechuk losing his fight with cancer, both teams had personal connections in the back of their mind this game.

Stars head coach Rick Bowness played with Hawerchuk and Andrew Mangiapane and Rasmus Andersson of the Flames both played for him when he coached the Barrie Colts. Hawerchuk spoke of the potential of Andrew Mangiapane for Flames media and raved about his NHL calibre play even at a junior level.

Both teams started with the same lineups as last game. Matthew Tkachuk and Ben Bishop sat out with undisclosed injuries and both coaches kept their same lineups without any new substitutions. The Flames looked to bounce back after a tough loss in game four and the Stars looked to continue their momentum that was noticeably the difference-maker in the last match-up.

The Stars took advantage of a lethargic start by the Flames by dominating them in shots and getting on the scoreboard first for the second game in a row. Jamie Benn got a two for one goal by getting the puck over the line then getting his body over the line right after. It’s not the prettiest goal, but it gets the job done.

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Calgary addressed their discipline issues from the last game and turns the tables on Dallas. They have three power play opportunities but, unfortunately, did not capitalize on any of them.

Instead, Mikael Backlund evened up the score on an unassisted goal he fakes out Esa Lindell on and gets it past Anton Khudobin through traffic. Dallas doubles Calgary’s shots 14-7 through one period of play but the score stayed even at one.

In the second period, there were some shuffled lines on the Flames end, and as a result, Tobias Reider was promoted to the first line to replace Elias Lindholm and hopefully generate some spark for the team. The Flames catch up to the intensity the Stars came out with the first period and a more polished 20 minutes of hockey is played by both teams.

Neither were able to take the lead in the second period, leaving the score tied at one. Dallas again outshot the Flames in this frame. This time 12-7.

The Stars did not waste much time in the third period as they take the lead just 1:12 into the third period. John Klingberg scored Dallas’ second of the evening on a well-placed shot in the top corner.

Both Rasmus Andersson and Elias Lindholm came very close to tying it back up with shots ringing off the posts. Later in the period, they pulled Cam Talbot for an extra attacker and even got 23 seconds of a 6 on 4 with Andrew Cogliano taking a late slashing penalty.

A two-man advantage was not enough and the Flames fell to the Stars 2-1, putting themselves on the brink of elimination. Game six will take place on Thursday. Game time has not yet been confirmed.