Benn, team defense bust Stars out of four-game slump in shutout of red-hot Flames
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
Especially when you’ve lost four games in a row.
The Dallas Stars’ first goal against the Flames at American Airlines Center on Tuesday night certainly fit that description. In the middle of the first period, Tyler Seguin stole the puck behind the net in the offensive zone and slung it across the front of the goal mouth.
It wasn’t a particularly elegant pass, but it managed to find its way off the skate of Jamie Benn and into the back of the net.
Dallas was both lucky and good throughout its 2-0 win over the Calgary Flames. In the process, Jim Montgomery’s team snapped its worst pointless streak of the season.
Before the most recent road trip, the Stars had claimed eight points in four games. As a result, they were right in the thick of the playoff race in the Central Division and Western Conference standings.
But on the road a four-game slide followed and so did their place in the standings. Entering Tuesday, Dallas occupied fifth place in the division and 11th in the Western Conference.
The Flames are also entered the tilt as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. In their previous 15 games they were 12-1-2.
But, for all of their struggles on the road, the Stars have been dominant at home. They’re now 11-3-1 at AAC, the best mark in the Western Conference and second-best mark in the NHL (the Tampa Bay Lightning rank first).
Against Calgary, Montgomery’s group finally rebounded with a strong effort and victory.
Tyler Seguin, Alexande Radulov and Benn, the Stars’ three best forwards, were ice cold on the road trip. During the first three games, the trio combined for just three points (a goal by Radulov and assists from Benn and Seguin).
Collectively, the three were also a brutal minus-8.
When the Stars visited the Avalanche on Saturday, the three finally came through, totaling six points (three goals and three assists).
Benn’s goal off the pass from Seguin continued a positive trend, even though Radulov was separated from his typical linemates.
But the team’s effort on defense might’ve been equally important.
Tuesday’s game wouldn’t have been complete without another Ben Bishop injury scare.
In the second period he took what appeared to be a deliberate stick to the head and was forced to head to the locker room for a medical evaluation.
The team’s No. 1 netminder returned for the third, and together he and Anton Khudobin stopped 24 shots combined to blank the Pacific Division-leading Flames.
This story was originally published December 18, 2018 at 10:23 PM.