Oh, So Close!

The Flames certainly didn't go down without a fight.

They battled and clawed right to the finish.

The visiting Stars scored three in a row in the second period to take a 4-2 lead into the final 20 minutes, but the homeside outshot Dallas 22-5 in the third period as they put up a season-high 46 shots in a tough 4-3 loss.

MacKenzie Weegar got a powerplay marker in the third period and the homeside pressed right to the final buzzer, coming within inches of tying it up when Stars defenceman Esa Lindell kicked the puck out of the blue paint just as it was about to cross the goalline.

Connor Zary scored the first goal of the night in his NHL debut, while Andrew Mangiapane also tallied for Calgary. Jacob Markstrom had a strong night with 26 saves.

Elias Lindholm and Nazem Kadri each had two-point nights, while Rasmus Andersson returned to the lineup after missing four games due to suspension.

Back to Zary, the 2002 first-rounder nearly notched his second goal in the third when he skated up the ice and toe dragged around Jani Hakanpaa, then split between another defender, going forehand to backhand but barely denied by a flailing Jake Oettinger.

Still, the finesse, speed and skill led to a rousing chant of 'Zary, Zary' breaking out in the 'Dome.

His goal, though, was the definition of right place at the right time by showing a goal-scorer's knack, the youngster driving the net after a Chris Tanev point shot with the puck hitting him, then falling to his feet where he swept a backhand home 5:28 in.

The Stars tied it up while shorthanded with less than a minute left in the first on an odd play.

Dallas cleared the puck from their zone and Markstrom was ready to go out and play it but jumped back between the pipes as it died going around the end boards, Roope Hintz grabbed the biscuit and fed it out front to captain Jamie Benn as he swooped in and put it home with 54 ticks still on the clock.

The Flames came out to start the second with some serious hop in their step early, piling the pressure on the Stars. Captain Mikael Backlund got a shot off all alone in the low slot less than a minute in that Oettinger turned aside.

But just over a minute later, the piling on paid off as Weegar found Mangiapane by himself in the high slot, the forward making no mistake with a bullet high blocker side under the bar for his fourth of the season.

Dallas, though, would tie it up again off a rush when Jason Robertson scored at 4:34.

Markstrom made an absolute 10-beller just before the midway point of the middle stanza, coming across his crease to absolutely rob Joe Pavelski off a cross-ice feed from Robertson, getting his toe on the puck to deny the veteran.

Evgenii Dadonov would put Dallas ahead for the first time in the tilt moments later at the 10:06 mark with a wrist shot off the rush, then it was Mason Marchment adding another for the Stars with 10.7 seconds left in the second.

Weegar scored on the powerplay at the 2:20 mark of the third, his shot deflecting off a stick and finding twine, with Kadri and Lindholm getting the helpers.

Noah Hanifin rang one off the post behind Oettinger off a Calgary faceoff win in the Dallas zone, the puck hitting iron and bouncing out and under the Stars netminder who flopped down to cover it up.

Following Zary's aforementioned third-period powerplay chance, Markstrom stretched out his left pad to the post to deny a backhand from Tyler Seguin.

Also important to note, the team celebrated Mike Vernon Night, presented by Mike's Hard Lemonade, to honour the former Flames netminder who will be enshrined into the Hockey Hall of Fame next week.

The Lineup:

Trios and D-pairs to start the tilt:

Forwards:

Jonathan Huberdeau - Elias Lindholm - Andrew Mangiapane

Connor Zary - Nazem Kadri - Yegor Sharangovich

Dryden Hunt - Mikael Backlund - Blake Coleman

A.J. Greer - Matt Coronato - Walker Duehr

Defencemen:

MacKenzie Weegar - Rasmus Andersson

Noah Hanifin - Chris Tanev

Dennis Gilbert - Jordan Oesterle

Goaltenders

Jacob Markstrom - starter

Dan Vladar

They Said It:

The Numbers Game:

Shots: CGY 46, DAL 30

Powerplay: CGY 1-5, DAL 0-2

FO%: CGY 53.6%, DAL 46.4%

Blocked Shots: CGY 13, DAL 18

Hits: CGY 16, DAL 12

Scoring Chances: CGY 24, DAL 27

High-Danger Scoring Chances: CGY 10, DAL 13

Up Next:

The Flames hit the road for a one-off in Seattle on Saturday night. They return to the 'Dome on Nov. 7 when they host the Predators. Click for tickets