Toffoli saves best for last as Flames burn Stars 5-4
By Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press on March 6, 2023.
DALLAS (AP) – Nick Ritchie scored a goal in his debut for Calgary after being part of the NHL’s first brother-for-brother trade and Tyler Toffoli scored on a breakaway with seven seconds left as the Flames beat the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars 5-4 on Monday night for their first win in six games. The Stars had overcome a two-goal deficit, and drew even on captain Jamie Benn’s 26th goal with just under six minutes left. After Dallas failed to capitalize on a late power play following a boarding penalty against Ritchie, it looked like the game was headed to overtime. But Toffoli scored his 26th goal with a wrister past Jake Oettinger after a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau. Huberdeau also assisted on Ritchie’s goal less than four minutes into the game. Oettinger had stopped his shot but was unable to gather in the puck, which was just beyond his skate in the crease when Ritchie swiped it in for a 1-0 lead. Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm and Rasmus Andersson also scored goals for the wild-card-chasing Flames, who were 0-3-2 in their previous five games. Jason Robertson scored his 38th goal for Dallas, and Roope Hintz got his 30th on a short-hander. Max Domi got his first goal for the Stars since getting traded from the Blackhawks right after Dallas had played in Chicago on Thursday night. Calgary acquired the 27-year-old Ritchie just before the trade deadline Friday from Arizona for his old brother, Brett. The younger Ritchie had scored nine goals in 58 games for the Coyotes. Brett Richie, who turns 30 on July 1, is about 2 1/2 years older. UP NEXT Flames: Wrap up a back-to-back on the road at Minnesota on Tuesday night. Stars: Play their next six games on the road, starting Thursday night at Buffalo. ___ More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sport 13-12
