Skip to content

Dallas Stars (35-28-10) at Calgary Flames (40-27-6), 10 p.m. (ET)

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Calgary Flames need every point they can get at this stage of the season. They'll shoot for a second consecutive win on Wednesday when the surging Dallas Stars visit the Saddledome.

The Flames enter today on a three-game point streak (2-0-1) after losing their previous two games in regulation. Although it is tied at 86 points with idle Los Angeles, Calgary holds the current tiebreaker for the third and final playoff bid from the Pacific Division. The Flames also sit four points behind Vancouver for second place in the division.

Calgary is 2-1-1 on a five-game homestand that ends tonight and it's coming off Monday's 3-2 victory over Colorado. The Flames held a 2-1 lead after the first period and Lance Bouma notched the game-winning goal at 8:40 of the third stanza.

Bouma and David Jones each tallied a goal and an assist for the Flames, while Jiri Hudler also hit the net. Karri Ramo made 25 saves in his third consecutive start for Calgary, which improved to 21-13-4 as the host this season.

"I thought that the third period was by far a very well played period," Flames coach Bob Hartley said.

After completing this stay at the Saddledome, Hartley's club will head out on a five-game road trip beginning with a matchup Friday against the Minnesota Wild.

The Stars find themselves eight points out of a playoff spot with only nine games left, but Lindy Ruff's club does not seem willing to go down without a fight. Dallas currently is on its second three-game winning streak of the month and has won eight of its last 10 contests.

The team's latest triumph came Monday against visiting Buffalo, as Cody Eakin scored the winning goal with 3:14 remaining in the third period to lead the Stars to a 4-3 win.

Jamie Benn had two goals and an assist while Patrick Eaves added a goal and a helper for the Stars. Kari Lehtonen turned aside 25 shots.

"The only thing we can do is try to win out," said Ruff. "Just try and win out."

Lehtonen has started the last seven games for Dallas and is 6-1-0 over those outings. he is 9-3-2 with a 2.60 goals against average in 14 career starts versus the Flames.

Benn is questionable for tonight's game with an undisclosed injury suffered in Monday's contest.

Defenseman Trevor Daley, who has missed the last nine games with a knee injury, recently returned to practice but is not expected to play on Wednesday. Daley could return at some point during the Stars' three-game road trip, which begins tonight before making stops in Edmonton and Vancouver this weekend.

Dallas is 19-14-2 as the road club this season.

The Stars own a 4-0-1 mark in their last five meetings with the Flames. Calgary has lost two straight home tests in this series.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox