Stars’ Klingberg nets winner as Dallas puts Flames on brink of elimination

EDMONTON — The Dallas Stars shipped a signature video game Tuesday, grinding down Calgary 2-1 to set them just a gain absent from blowing the Flames out of the bubble completely in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Dallas has a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven opening-round series. Activity 6 goes Thursday.

John Klingberg and Jamie Benn scored for Dallas though Anton Khudobin stopped 28 photographs in net for his next earn of the collection.

It was a sport that in shape the profile for Dallas in the common season: restricted defence and opportunistic offence for a squad that authorized just 2.52 goals versus a video game (2nd in NHL) but scored just 2.58 a game (26th).

The winner arrived early in the third interval. Klingberg fired a wrist shot from the blue line by targeted visitors that defeat goaltender Cam Talbot large on the shorter aspect.

It was his first target of the post-season, to go with six assists. Klingberg credited winger Mattias Janmark, who bounced again from having a wicked Noah Hanifin slapshot on the ankle in the initially interval to established up the winner.

“Janmark did a wonderful work choosing up the puck on the boards on his backhand, holding on to it and discovering me on the weak aspect,” explained Klingberg.

“That is anything we’ve been talking a whole lot about as a group, trying to get much more O-zone (time).

“He took manage of the puck, experienced a person on his back again, and even now made a enjoy so I could just wander down and wrist that shot by means of, and thankfully it went in.”

Benn scored the very first intention of the match the difficult way, barrelling down the ice on a 2-on-1 with Tyler Seguin.

Seguin backhanded a go to Benn that he redirected at prime pace in the blue paint as he freight-skilled into the crossbar, knocking the internet off its pegs.

It was ruled a brief-handed objective but the teams were being just coming off 4-on-4 play at the time. Seguin reported he considered about shooting but then noticed Benn.

“It was an instinctive participate in,” said Seguin.

“Jamie was likely tough to the back submit. I assume the crossbar received the most effective of him there. It was a big strike but fantastic objective.”

It was Benn’s second intention of the series, to go with two assists.

Mikael Backlund, with his fourth goal of the post-year, replied for Calgary. Talbot stopped 30 shots in his ninth consecutive article-year start out.

Flames winger Andrew Mangiapane mentioned they want to slim their subject of eyesight for Game 6.

“I continue to feel we’ve got additional than what we’re kind of showing here,” he said.

“I think we’ve just obtained to go out and perform our video game and I assume we’ll be Alright.”

Defenceman Rasmus Andersson explained it will be a trench struggle: “I even now feel we can put a lot more pucks to the net and just check out to get the job done them much more down reduced.”

Prior to Tuesday, it experienced been Calgary profitable the reduced-scoring video games (3-2 and 2-) when Dallas had triumphed in a pair of 5-4 shootouts.

It was a sport the Stars dominated by way of the to start with two intervals, with Talbot retaining the Flames in it by turning apart a lot of large-percentage likelihood off the hurry and from the slot.

Calgary was outshot 14-7 in the very first period, but confirmed signals of lifetime as the video game wore on when Tobias Rieder joined Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan on the leading line, with Elias Lindholm bumped down to perform along with Mangiapane and Backlund on the next trio.

Rieder has three ambitions in the article-period — all shorthanded — and has been elevated to the top 6 in location of Matthew Tkachuk.

Tkachuk, the notorious agitator and Flames top scorer in the normal period, hasn’t performed since he was knocked woozy on a strike late in Video game 2.

Ben Bishop, the Stars’ normal period No. 1 goalie, did not costume for a next consecutive game. The NHL is not releasing damage info.

It was an emotional working day for interim Dallas coach Rick Bowness. He could be seen blinking back tears as he watched a pre-recreation video clip tribute to previous teammate and good friend Dale Hawerchuk, who died Tuesday immediately after a fight with tummy most cancers at 57.

Bowness the two performed with and coached Hawerchuk in the 1980s with the Winnipeg Jets.

“A single matter I don’t forget with Dale, when he bought his to start with house, I believe he emptied the pool and painted a Winnipeg Jet brand on the bottom of the pool appropriate away.

“He was really happy to be a Winnipeg Jet.”

All Western Conference video games are being performed at Rogers Location, with gamers isolating in a so-called bubble in concerning to avert contracting COVID-19.