By Canadian Press

Benn has two points as Stars win 4-3, hand Flames sixth-straight loss

Nov 1, 2023 | 9:40 PM

CALGARY — Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist on Wednesday as the Dallas Stars scored three straight in the second period en route to a 4-3 victory over the slumping Calgary Flames.

Jason Robertson, Evgenii Dadonov, and Mason Marchment also scored for Dallas (6-1-1), which has won five of its last six. Roope Hintz chipped in with a pair of assists.

Andrew Mangiapane, Connor Zary, in his NHL debut, and Mackenzie Weegar replied for Calgary (2-7-1). The Flames have lost six games in a row in regulation for the first time since they went seven games without picking up a point from March 16-29, 2018.

Jake Oettinger continues his fine start to the season, making 43 stops to improve to 5-0-1. He was busiest in the third period when he was peppered with 22 shots.

Jacob Markstrom, who had 27 saves, was tagged with the loss. He’s 0-6-1 in his last seven starts after getting the win in the club’s season opener.

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Down 2-1 in the second, the Stars tied it at 4:35 when the visitors quickly pushed the puck up ice with Robertson taking a pass from Hintz and beating Markstrom along the ice from 20 feet out.

The Stars took their first lead at 10:06 when Dadonov took a drop pass from Nils Lundkvist, took a couple strides toward the middle of the slot and ripped a shot top corner.

Marchment gave Dallas a two-goal lead heading into the second intermission, taking advantage of a defensive breakdown with 12 seconds left, one-timing a centring pass from Matt Duchene past Markstrom.

After Weegar’s power-play goal 2:20 into the third drew Calgary back to within one, Oettinger turned in his finest stop of the game six minutes later, stopping Zary with his left pad after the 22-year-old broke in off the left wing, turned Jani Hakanpaa inside out and tried a deke to his backhand.

Zary had opened the game’s scoring on his third NHL shift. Chris Tanev’s point shot deflected in front and went right to him in the crease where he was able to knock the puck into the vacant net.

Zary, from Saskatoon, was Calgary’s first-round pick (24th overall) in 2020.

Dallas tied it 1-1 on a short-handed goal at 19:06. With Markstrom out of his net to play the puck along the end boards, the puck didn’t make it out of the trapezoid leaving him trapped out of position along with defenceman Rasmus Andersson, and Hintz got the puck and set up Benn in front.

Andersson was making his return to the lineup after serving his four-game suspension for a hit on Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine.

MISSING FROM ACTION

Calgary was without D Nikita Zadorov (family matter) and F Dillon Dube (undisclosed injury). Absent for the Stars was F Radek Faksa (upper body).

ZARY DEBUT

Zary is the first Flames player to score in his first NHL game since defenceman Patrick Sieloff on April 9, 2016. Zary was recalled on Tuesday from the AHL, where he led the Calgary Wranglers with 10 points (1 goal, 9 assists) in six games.

5-ON-5 STRUGGLES

With three more goals surrendered at five-on-five, the Flames have given up 27 on the season, which leads the NHL. Meanwhile, they’ve only scored 12. Only Washington (10), St. Louis (9) and San Jose have scored fewer.

UP NEXT

Stars: Travel up the highway to Edmonton to face the Oilers on Thursday.

Flames: Take on the Seattle Kraken on the road on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2023.

Darren Haynes, The Canadian Press