Flames 4 Stars 3 (SO)
DALLAS — Curtis Glencross scored in the third round of the shootout to give the Calgary Flames a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.
Alex Tanguay scored in the second round, but Dallas’ Mike Ribeiro countered on a nifty move in the third. Glencross, who scored the deciding goals in Calgary’s previous two games, then beat Kari Lehtonen with a snap shot.
Rene Bourque, Tom Kostopoulos and Anton Babchuk scored first-period goals during a 3:15 span to get the Flames off to a fast start before the Stars came back.
Jamie Benn and Ribeiro scored for Dallas, and Tomas Vincour drew the Stars even at 3-3 at 5:39 of the third period on a sharp-angled shot from the left circle for his first NHL goal.
Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 31 shots for the Flames, who’ve won three straight and are 8-2-1 in their last 11 games.
The Flames moved into a fourth place tie with Chicago in Western Conference, a point ahead of Dallas.
Lehtonen made 31 saves for the Stars, 5-0-2 in their last seven and returning from a 3-0-1 trip.
Calgary gained early momentum when Bourque fired a loose puck from the left circle past Lehtonen at 10:26 of the opening period.
The Flames needed only 1:02 to extend the lead when Kostopoulos capitalized on a rebound.
Babchuk’s shot from the right point went in off Lehtonen’s glove to make it 3-0 at 13:41 of the first period before Benn made it a two-goal game on a power play at 18:28.
Dallas dominated the second period with a 15-4 shots advantage and Ribeiro pulled the Stars within a goal on a wrist shot from the right circle at 5:12.
Stars centre and leading scorer Brad Richards returned after missing 10 games with concussion-like symptoms. Richards was injured when he was hit in the head on a check in the closing seconds of a game against Columbus on Feb. 13.
NOTES: Benn has one goal in each of his last five games . . . The Flames scored on their second and third shots of the night . . . Stars D Nicklas Grossman (hip) missed his 11th consecutive game, but he’s been practising and could be active Friday night at home against Minnesota . . . The Flames were without C Brendan Morrison (knee), D Adam Pardy (shoulder) and C Daymond Langkow (neck).