CALGARY, Alberta — Eric Nystrom doesn’t score often, but he found himself in the right place at the right time in the third period of a tie game.
Taking advantage of a Dallas turnover, Nystrom scored the go-ahead goal at 11:46, and Calgary’s Miikka Kiprusoff earned his 200th win in the Flames’ 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.
Rookie center Warren Peters pressured Fabian Brunnstrom into giving up the puck in his zone. Dustin Boyd kept the play onside and swept a pass to Nystrom as he broke to the net. Nystrom moved in and fired a shot from 20 feet that squeezed in under the arm of goalie Marty Turco.
“My eyes were as huge as basketballs there,” Nystrom said. “I had a whole head of steam, I knew if he could get it to me, I’d be in pretty much all alone. I just tried getting the shot away quick and surprise him, snuck it between his pads and it felt pretty good.”
Nystrom’s fourth goal of the season was his first in 14 games.
“It’s always the unexpected player that comes through in playoff hockey,” Flames coach Mike Keenan said. “That’s what makes the playoffs so exciting, when you see players that don’t play much, have big roles or play important parts in games.”
Brunnstrom accepted full blame.
“I lost my balance a little bit and I was trying to pass to the other side, but I just missed the puck and it became a bad pass,” said Brunnstrom, who returned to the lineup after missing four games with a shoulder injury. “I would try to make a harder pass next time or hang onto it”.
Jamie Lundmark also scored for the Flames, who increased their Northwest Division lead over Vancouver to five points.
Brendan Morrison scored the lone goal for Dallas, ninth in the Western Conference.
“It’s not good when you lose right now,” said Turco, who was visibly disappointed after making 29 saves in a losing cause. “At this time of year, the way things are … by winning, you’re not going to separate yourself but by losing you will. We’re not doing ourselves any favors and we’re going to need some to get in now.”
The Stars, who lost 4-2 Tuesday night in Vancouver, will wrap up their road trip in San Jose on Saturday night.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do and that’s why it’s so disheartening back to back nights to not get any points,” Turco said. “We’ve got to throw the hammer down and start winning hockey games, there’s no other way to look at it for us.”
Kiprusoff made 18 saves to earn his NHL-leading 41st win of the season (41-17-5). Kiprusoff had surrendered 19 goals in his previous four starts and was pulled by Keenan twice.
“We stressed defense the last couple of days and we came out and held them to one goal. It’s great for us,” Lundmark said.
Trailing 1-0, Calgary tied it at 5:39 of the second period when Lundmark converted a 2-on-1 that was set up by a nifty give-and-go between Daymond Langkow and Boyd.
Lundmark was recalled from Quad Cities (AHL) on Feb. 19 when Flames forward Rene Bourque injured his ankle. The 28-year-old journeyman has had a productive month, posting five goals and four assists in 12 games.
After an uneventful first period, Dallas opened the scoring 1:10 into the second.
Stephane Robidas’ shot didn’t get through, but the bouncing puck landed on the stick of Morrison as he skated through the slot. He quickly flipped a backhander past Kiprusoff.
It was the second goal in eight games for Morrison since he was picked up on waivers on March 4 from the Anaheim Ducks. Morrison has 18 goals in 48 career games against Calgary.
In his home debut for the Flames, Olli Jokinen had a few dangerous chances but did not earn a point. Jokinen had six goals and two assists in his three previous games.
Notes: Injuries sustained Tuesday in Vancouver to Dallas forwards
Mike Modano (lower body) and Steve Begin (upper body) created openings for Mark Parrish (head, 3 games) and Brunnstrom (shoulder, 4 games) to return from injury. RW Krystofer Barch also missed his first game this season. Mike Ribeiro and Trevor Daley are the only two Stars who have played in all 71 games. … Flames RW Jarome Iginla was awarded a silver stick to commemorative his becoming the leading point-getter in team history. Iginla set the mark on March 1. … Langkow needs one point for 600 in the NHL. … The Flames are 7-0 in games that follow at least three days off.
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