Wild-card stars force Game 7 against Calgary with a 4-2 win


DALLAS (AP) — Miro Heiskanen scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period for the Dallas Stars, who rallied after blowing an early two-goal lead and beat the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Friday night to force a decider. Game 7. in their Western Conference first-round series.

The first goal in these playoffs for Heiskanen came on a heavily trafficked 40-foot shot off Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom. That came with 2:28 left in the second half, in which both teams scored twice.

The series wraps up Sunday night in Calgary, where the Flames last hosted a Game 7 in 2006 and lost their first-round series to Anaheim. This is the third straight postseason the Stars have played a Game 7: They beat Colorado in the second round in the NHL bubble in Canada two seasons ago, and lost to St. Louis in a second-round series that spanned the length of the season. the distance in 2019.

Roope Hintz and Michael Raffl also scored for the Stars wild cards, and Tyler Seguin added an empty net in the final minute. Jake Oettinger, their 23-year-old goaltender who had never started a playoff game before this series, stopped 36 shots.

Markstrom also had 36 saves.

Pacific Division champion Calgary had tied the game at 2 with 8:01 remaining in the second period on a goal by Mikael Backlund, which came 1 second after the end of what officially became another power play. unsuccessful in this series when both teams have struggled with a man advantage.

That made the Flames 0-for-2 on the power play in the game, to match Dallas at 2-for-21 in the series.

The Stars went 2-for-22 midway through the third period when Joe Pavelski fired a shot from near-point-blank range that ricocheted off Markstrom’s skate that was in play.

Backlund’s third goal of the series came on a smack shot, about four minutes after Johnny Gaudreau’s clever pass through the front of the Dallas net to Michael Stone for the easy shot.

The Stars led 2-0 six minutes into the second half when Raffl finished a wild play.

Dallas Stars players celebrate a goal by Miro Heiskanen during the second period of Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Calgary Flames, Friday, May 13, 2022, in Dallas.

  • Dallas Stars players celebrate a goal by Miro Heiskanen during the second period of Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Calgary Flames, Friday, May 13, 2022, in Dallas.
  • Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz (24) attacks as Calgary Flames defenseman Christopher Tanev (8) and goalie Jacob Markstrom (25) guard their net during the first period of Game 6 of a NHL hockey Stanley Cup first round playoff series, Friday, May 13, 2022, in Dallas.

Joel Kiviranta was trying to follow his own shot, even backing off after skating past the net, while two skaters from Calgary and Markstrom fell to the ice. Defender Christopher Tanev was one of those downed and tried to push the puck off with his hand before Raffl could get it just inside the post.

Hintz got his second goal of the series with 5:08 left in the first period, just after Oettinger withstood a flurry of shots at the other end.

Matthew Tkachuk and Gaudreau, both 100-point and 40-goal scorers in the regular season, hit quick shots in succession that had Oettinger running and diving across the box.

Once the Stars had the puck going the other way, Pavelski shoved the puck behind him for a charge by Hintz, who shoved the puck under Markstrom’s legs.

GAME 7 STORY

Calgary is 5-7 in Game 7 but has lost six of the last seven they have played. The Flames’ only Game 7 win since 1990 came in the first round against Vancouver in 2004, before advancing to the Stanley Cup Final and losing to Tampa Bay in Game 7.

Dallas is 6-8, including a Game 7 victory over Colorado in the second round of the 2020 playoffs, when the Stars reached the Stanley Cup final in the postseason played in a bubble in Canada due to the pandemic.

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