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Sydor, Stars Burn Flames 3-1


Calgary Flames coach Brian Sutter believes the Dallas Stars have the best power play in the world. Sutter will get little argument from his NHL peers.

Darryl Sydor had two goals and an assist and the Stars scored twice on the power play Tuesday night to beat Calgary 3-1.

The Flames actually did a good job killing penalties, but the Stars were able to convert twice in 11 power play chances to remain unbeaten at home (3-0-0).

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"We spent all night killing penalties against the best power play in the world," said Sutter. "There was penalty after penalty after penalty. They showed why they're the best team in the league. They checked and checked and didn't give an inch."

Sydor is the point man on the Stars' first power play unit along with Sergei Zubov, who assisted on both of Sydor's goals. Sydor has at least one point in each of Dallas' first five games, matching the longest scoring streak of his career. Sydor had a five-game streak for the Los Angeles Kings in 1993-94.

"We're trying to get momentum on each power play, even if we don't score," said Sydor, who finished with seven shots and leads the league with 10 points. "We've got three good (power play) units."

"I don't really care about scoring. I try to get the puck low and they're getting it back to me," he said. "I just feel confident with the puck right now and that's big in this game."

Dallas is 9-for-38 with the man advantage this season.

"We love to be on the power play," Stars center Mike Modano said. "We're striving to be a good power play team."

Sydor snapped a 1-1 tie with a blast from the point at 3:31 of the second period, and the Stars went on to boost their overall record to 3-1-1.

Stars/Flames
Dallas center Guy Carbonneau (21) hits the puck away from the goal after goalie Ed Belfour blocked a shot by Andrew Cassels. (AP)

With the Stars on the power play, Sydor notched his second of the game and fourth of the season from the left circle at 14:48 of the second period to extend Dallas' advantage to 3-1.

Brett Hull added an assist on Sydor's second goal. Like Sydor, Hull has at least one point in all five games.

Calgary's overall record fell to 1-3-1, in large part because the Flames could not stay out of the penalty box.

"They're going to call it tight to abide by the rules changes and teams have got to adjust," Modano said. "That's going to hurt some teams if they can't be disciplined."

Stars backup goalie Roman Turek had to face only 14 shots to get the victory in his first start of the season. The Flames got off only two shots in the final period.

Rookie Martin St. Louis poked in a loose puck from the right side of the net at 14:06 of the first period for his first career goal to give Calgary a 1-0 lead.

Jamie Langenbrunner's first goal of the season on a power play rebound tied it at 1 with 41.3 seconds left in the first.

© 1998 SportsLine USA, Inc. All rights reserved

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