Benn nets pair to carry Stars past Flames
CALGARY, Alberta -- Jamie Benn scored twice Thursday, including the winning goal in the third period, to lead the Dallas Stars to a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames.
The Stars snapped a three-game losing streak playing without six of their top nine forwards because of injury.
Lauri Korpikoski and Antoine Roussel, into an empty net, also scored for the Stars (5-6-3), who have two wins in their past eight games.
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 has started slow with two goals through 13 games coming in to Thursday after potting 41 in 2015-16 and 35 and 34 the seasons before that.
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.
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 stop 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.