National Hockey League
Calgary 3, Dallas 1
When: 8:30 PM ET, Thursday, December 17, 2015
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Referees: Dave Jackson, Frederic L'Ecuyer
Linesmen: Pierre Racicot, Tony Sericolo
Attendance: 18410

DALLAS -- The Calgary Flames proved their shootout win against the Stars on Dec. 1 at the Scotiabank Saddledome was no fluke, posting an impressive 3-1 victory against Dallas on Thursday at American Airlines Center.

Flames goaltender Karri Ramo was the star of the show in Calgary's seventh consecutive win, stopping 35 of 36 shots.

"Especially in that third period, Karri came up with big saves," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "We were under siege, and he came up with some big clutch saves. We blocked lots of shots, too, but I thought that Karri was the difference in tonight's game."

Center Sean Monahan, defenseman Dougie Hamilton and left winger Mason Raymond scored goals for Calgary (15-14-2), who has won 11 consecutive December games dating back to December 2014.

Dallas (23-7-2) got its lone goal from defenseman Johnny Oduya, a short-handed tally in the first period.

"The first 15 minutes we played pretty well; two great kills and a big short-handed goal," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "A missed assignment on the two-on-one hurt us (on Monahan's goal). Then to get (the Hamilton goal) really late (in the second), that after playing 15 minutes of good hockey, really hurt us. That little bit of roller coaster ride we're on, 15 minutes wasn't good enough."

Ramo made several huge saves, most in the third period. His most impressive stop of the evening came 5:35 into the third when he denied a wrist shot by Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski from the slot. Ramo previously denied a shot from Stars left winger Jamie Benn, and Goligoski was looking to score off the ensuing rebound.

"We had some errors and we had some turnovers, but (Ramo) made some big saves, and that's what we need," Raymond said. "He'll make the first one. We'll clear it out from there, and that's what we did."

Ramo also denied Benn at close range on an attempted tap-in at 10:03 of the third with the Stars on the power play.

Dallas struck first when Oduya scored with 7:26 remaining in the first period. Oduya collected his fourth goal of the season by tapping in a rebound after a wrist shot by left winger Vernon Fiddler was turned away by Ramo.

It was Oduya's second goal in as many games. Dallas had been short-handed for nine seconds after center Cody Eakin was whistled for tripping.

Calgary scored the next two to lead 2-1 at the first intermission.

Monahan beat Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen top shelf to the short side with a wrist shot from the left circle. Left winger Johnny Gaudreau fed Monahan with a backhand pass near the Calgary blue line. Monahan rushed up the left side of the ice untouched before finishing for his 11th goal of the season.

The Flames took their first lead when Hamilton scored on a wrist shot from the right circle that deflected off the right post before beating Lehtonen to his short side with 28 seconds remaining in the first period.

With 2:30 remaining in the second, Calgary doubled its lead to 3-1 when Raymond beat Lehtonen high to the far post with a wrist shot from the high slot. Lehtonen was screened by both center Mikael Backlund, who set up the goal with a pass to Raymond just inside the Dallas blue line, and right winger David Jones, and did not see the puck until right before it went in.

"Yeah, it started in our D-zone," Raymond said of his goal. "I'm not even sure who it was in the corner, but (Backlund) made a good play, too, to dump the puck and we had an odd-man rush, three-on-two. I was able to get to the middle, get a shot off, and I think the goalie was screened, so I was able to get a good look."

Lehtonen stopped 24 of 27 shots.

NOTES: Flames LW Brandon Bollig, RW Michael Frolik (upper body) and D Ladislav Smid were scratched. Coach Bob Hartley said after a morning skate that there was no further update on Frolik, who was injured Tuesday in Nashville and is back in Calgary. ... Stars D Jyrki Jokipakka, LW Travis Moen and D Jamie Oleksiak were scratched. ... Thursday's game was the second of three regular-season meetings between the teams. The Flames won 4-3 in a shootout on Dec. 1 in Calgary. ... Stars G Kari Lehtonen started consecutive home games for just the second time this season. Lehtonen previously started back-to-back games in Dallas on Nov. 12 against Winnipeg and Nov. 14 against Minnesota, stopping 57 of 62 shots to earn wins in both games. ... Calgary plays the Blues on Saturday at St. Louis. ... Dallas concludes a three-game homestand Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.
Top Game Performances
 
Calgary   Dallas
Dougie Hamilton 1 Points Johnny Oduya 1
Dougie Hamilton 1 Goals Johnny Oduya 1
Mikael Backlund 1 Assists Vernon Fiddler 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals Johnny Oduya 1
Karri Ramo .972 Save Percentage Kari Lehtonen .889
Karri Ramo 35 Saves Kari Lehtonen 24
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Calgary 27 3 0-3 3-3 11 32
Dallas 36 1 0-3 3-3 11 29
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game at home against Montreal. The Stars have a W/L % of .609 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Calgary will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Flames have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .412 after a loss.