Dallas Stars centre Mike Ribeiro needed only two shots on goal to end the Calgary Flames' six-game winning streak.
Ribeiro scored twice, including the game winner just 57 seconds into overtime, to give the Stars a 3-2 win against the Flames at the Pengrowth Saddledome on Friday night.
Flames winger Eric Nystrom, left, and Stars centre Jeff Halpern battle for the puck Friday night in Calgary.
(Larry MacDougal/ Canadian Press)
With the teams tied at the end of regulation, Dallas defenceman Sergei Zubov directed a shot toward the Calgary net that was redirected by Ribeiro, who beat Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff between the legs.
"It was a good heads-up play by Zubov to throw the puck in there just a little bit wide for the tip," said Ribeiro, whose 18 goals is just two off his career high of 20 set in 2003-04 while a member of the Montreal Canadiens.
Ribeiro's tip-in completed a two-goal effort in a game in which he registered only two shots.
Centring the Star's top line with Brendan Morrow and Antti Miettinen, Ribeiro has six goals and 11 points in the past six games. Dallas has gone 5-1 in those games to move into second spot in the Western Conference.
"Usually, it starts after the all-star game, but this year every game's important as everyone's in it," Ribiero said. "We're playing with confidence right now; everyone's playing well and chipping in, and our special teams are going good."
Niklas Hagman scored Dallas's other goal and netminder Mike Smith made 22 saves.
Forward Alex Tanguay and Matthew Lombardi replied for Calgary (17-13-6), which sports a 7-7-5 record at home.
"We had opportunities, a lot of them," said Lombardi. "But we didn't capitalize while they took care of their chances."
The Flames travelled back and forth between time zones on a recent six-game road trip but managed to outscore their foes by a combined 26-16.
They last won seven in a row overall two years ago when they prevailed eight consecutive times.
The Stars rode a four-game winning streak before losing to Vancouver 3-2 on Wednesday night, but still lead the Pacific Division with a 20-12-4 record.
Dallas opened the scoring just 2:42 into the first period after pressuring the Flames in the their own end. Brendan Morrow flipped a pass to Ribeiro, who backhanded the puck over Kiprusoff.
"We obviously put ourselves in a hole early on so this is the time of year where we have take advantage and keep getting points," Lombardi said.
Tanguay tied the game for Calgary at 4:31 of the second period. The winger weaved his way toward the Dallas net and buried a rebound by Smith.
Stars defenceman Mattias Norstrom injured his left knee on the play after Calgary centre Dustin Boyd fell on him. Norstrom did not return to the game.
The Flames took a 2-1 lead with less than four minutes remaining in the second period on a terrific individual effort by Lombardi. The Calgary centre raced by Dallas defenceman Trevor Dailey and wired a shot over Smith's glove.
The Stars tied the game just 4:01 into the third period after Hagman took a perfect pass from Loui Eriksson and one-timed a shot behind Kiprusoff.
Calgary had several chances to take the lead in the third period but was repeatedly turned away by Smith, who made 11 stops in the third period and another in overtime to improve to 7-5-0.
"Our penalty killing was huge in the third period and Smitty's a big part of the PK," said Ribiero. "He's been really good for us and did a great job for us tonight keeping us in the game."
Kiprusoff, meanwhile, made 20 saves on the night but continues to struggle against the Stars. He is now 4-8-1 in his career versus Dallas — his worst record against any Western Conference team.
The Flames top line of Jarome Iginla, Kristian Huselius, and Daymond Langkow had combined for 42 points (22 goals, 20 assists) the first nine games of December before being blanked Friday night.
With files from the Canadian PressRelated
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