Stars 4, Flames 1

2011-12 Game No. 76; Road Game No. 40

Flames Record: 34-27-15

FULL HIGHLIGHTS ›FLAMES UNCUT: WALK-ON IN DALLAS› GAME GALLERY ›THE FIVE TAKEAWAYS ›

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CALGARYFLAMES.COM 3 STARS

1st STAR KARI LEHTONEN GOALTENDER - DAL SHOTS FACED: 36 | SAVES MADE: 35 SAVE PERCENTAGE: .927 VIDEO ›

2nd STAR MARK GIORDANO DEFENCE - CGY GOALS: 0 | ASST: 1 | SHOTS: 5 | +/-: -1 TOI: 25:18 | HITS: 3 VIDEO ›

3rd STAR MIKE CAMMALLERI LEFT WING - CGY GOALS: 1 | ASST: 0 | SHOTS: 3 | +/-: 0 TOI: 18:56 | MISSED SHOTS: 2 VIDEO ›

DALLAS, TX -- Jamie Benn scored twice, Kari Lehtonen made 35 saves, and the Dallas Stars beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Saturday in a matchup of Western Conference playoff contenders.

Michael Ryder also scored for the Stars, who improved to 87 points and are in the middle of a six-team scramble along with the Flames (83 points) for one of the final two playoff spots.

The Stars had moved into the Pacific Division lead with a 10-0-1 run, but they'd lost three of their previous four to tumble out of the top spot in the division and hurt their playoff hopes.

Brenden Morrow tapped in an empty-netter at 18:32 of the third period to clinch the win for Dallas.

Mike Cammalleri scored and Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 16 shots for the Flames, who had lost their previous three games in overtime or shootouts.

Dallas wrapped up a 2-2 homestand and begins a four-game trip Monday night in Calgary, the next game for both teams.

Calgary, 5-2-4 in its past 11 games, completed an 0-1-2 road trip.

Benn got his team off to a fast start at 1:37 of the first period, taking a pass from Adam Burish, skating from behind the net and stuffing a shot past Kiprusoff on Dallas' first shot of the game.

The Stars got a fortunate bounce at 3:03 of the opening period when a shot by Calgary's Blake Comeau banged off the right post, bailing out Lehtonen.

Ryder made it 2-0 at 7:17 of the first, firing his career-best 33rd goal by Kiprusoff from the right circle.

The Flames grabbed some momentum when Cammalleri notched his 16th from the right circle at 12:27 of the first period.

Cammalleri had missed the previous nine games with an upper-body injury.

Calgary built a 14-6 edge in shots in a scoreless second period.

Benn scored on a one-timer from the slot off a Steve Ott pass to give Dallas a two-goal edge at 16:27, Benn's 24th of the season.

The Flames continue to struggle on offense, having managed six goals in their past five games.

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PHOTO OF THE GAME

BY THE NUMBERS

STAT OF THE NIGHT After a slow start, the Flames peppered Kari Lehtonen with shots. They threw 14 at him in the second period and 15 in the final frame. Overall, they put 36 shots on net. Mark Giordano led his team with 5 shots. FLAMES LEADERS Icetime -- Giordano (25:18) Shots -- Giordano (5) Hits -- Tanguay, Giordano (3) Blocks -- Bouwmeester, Hannan, Glencross, Babchuk, Butler (2) Takeaways -- Giordano (1) Faceoff Wins -- Stajan (5, 36%)

TWEET OF THE NIGHT: @jennahamdon: @NHLFlames Kippers so boss he chest bumped that puck like they are buddies.

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FLAMES LINEUP VS. DALLAS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Alex Tanguay	Matt Stajan	Jarome Iginla
Curtis Glencross	Olli Jokinen	Lee Stempniak
Mike Cammalleri	Blair Jones	Blake Comeau
Tom Kostopoulos	Lance Bouma	David Moss

DEFENCE PAIRINGS
Left Defence	Right Defence
Jay Bouwmeester	Chris Butler
Mark Giordano	Scott Hannan
Anton Babchuk	Clay Wilson
Goaltenders: Miikka Kiprusoff, Henrik Karlsson Starting Lineup: Kiprusoff, Bouwmeester, Butler, Cammalleri, Jones, Comeau

POWERPLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Alex Tanguay	Mike Cammalleri	Jarome Iginla
Curtis Glencross	Olli Jokinen	Lee Stempniak

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Anton Babchuk	Mark Giordano

PENALTY KILL UNITS
FORWARD UNITS
Forward	Forward
Tom Kostopoulos	Alex Tanguay
Blake Comeau	David Moss

DEFENCE PAIRINGS
Left Defence	Right Defence
Jay Bouwmeester	Chris Butler
Mark Giordano	Scott Hannan