DAL@CGY: Khudobin fends off Andersson's one-timer

CALGARY -- The Dallas Stars maintained their wild-card lead with a 2-1 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday.

The Stars (40-31-6) lead the Colorado Avalanche by three points for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference and are four points behind the St. Louis Blues for third place in the Central Division. The Avalanche defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 on Wednesday.
"It's huge," Dallas forward Jamie Benn said. "There's good teams behind us and we want to catch the good teams in front of us. It's important to keep on going and finish this regular season out strong."
WATCH: [All Stars vs. Flames highlights]
Alexander Radulov and Miro Heiskanen scored for the Stars, who have won two in a row and three of five. Anton Khudobin made 15 saves and got the win in relief of Ben Bishop, who left in the second period with a lower-body injury.
"We're still in the running," Radulov said. "We're still in the mix. It's good we get it done today. It was a little nervous at the end but as usual everybody battled and stayed on the same page and we got it done. That's important."

DAL@CGY: Radulov goes coast to coast on power play

TJ Brodie scored, and David Rittich made 21 saves for the Flames (47-23-7), who remained six points ahead of the San Jose Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division and Western Conference. San Jose has played one fewer game.
"We've got to get used to playing in games like this, that's how it's going to be," Flames defenseman Mark Giordano said. "Very rarely do you see high-scoring games in the playoffs. Once in a while it happens, but for the most part they're low scoring, close games."
Radulov scored on the power play to make it 1-0 at 17:26 of the first period when he skated through three Flames defenders before sliding a backhand between Rittich's legs. Radulov has 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in his past 16 games.
"He's a fun guy to watch," Benn said. "His passion and pride for the game is right up there with anyone. Amazing goal to get us going today. We're pretty used to it. We definitely enjoy it, too."
Bishop made 20 saves before leaving at 13:22 of the second period and is day-to-day. He made four starts since returning from a lower-body injury sustained in a 4-1 win against the Minnesota Wild on March 14. Stars coach Jim Montgomery couldn't confirm whether the injuries were related.
"Both our goalies played pretty good," Benn said. "[Khudobin] was great when he came in cold there. I think they almost had 40 or so shots. Our goalies played great."

DAL@CGY: Bishop exits game with injury in 2nd

Heiskanen put Dallas up 2-0 with a power-play goal at 12:24 of the third period.
Brodie shot over Khudobin on a rebound to make it 2-1 at 18:28.
"You know they're battling for their lives," Giordano said. "It's tough to come back."

DAL@CGY: Brodie cleans up rebound to trim deficit

They said it

"Huge. It was a pretty greasy win but this time of the year it doesn't really matter how it looks. I think the end result is the big thing and we're getting out of here with two points." -- Stars forward Jamie Benn
"We're still first. It's a pretty good feeling, but obviously you always want to win every game. It's a tough league. It's tight out there. We have to find ways to score and get in front of the net more." -- Flames forward Elias Lindholm

Need to know

Dallas is 6-0-0 in its last six games against Calgary dating to Oct. 27, 2017 (Calgary 0-5-1). ... The Flames have scored one goal in the past two games after 33 goals in their previous seven. … Bishop is 7-1-0 with an 0.88 goals-against average and .969 save percentage with three shutouts in his past nine games. … Stars forward Tyler Seguin has nine points (four goals, five assists) in a five-game point streak. … Heiskanen, 19, leads Stars defensemen in goals with 11. … Dallas forward Justin Dowling did not play in the third period because of an upper-body injury. He is day-to-day.

What's next

Stars: At the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-SW+, NHL.TV)
Flames: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Friday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, PRIME, NHL.TV)

Stars edge Flames, 2-1, for sixth straight road win