Flames' Iginla pots overtime winner
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 4, 2009 | 10:54 PM MT
By Jenni Dunning, CBC Sports
Jarome Iginla scored the overtime winner to give the Calgary Flames a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.
Iginla, who nabbed a total of two goals, got the shot just seconds after the Stars' Nicklas Grossman was called for a two-minute penalty for delaying the game.
"Certainly, Jarome's game was good and not just because he scored two goals," Flames coach Brent Sutter said.
"He's a big, strong guy that gets in there in areas where he's hard to [restrain]."
Daymond Langhow scored a last-minute lift for the Flames with 49 seconds to go in regulation, tying the game 2-2.
Flames' goalie Curtis McElhinney, Miika Kiprusoff's backup, made 38 saves in his second start this season. The first start was during the team's only other visit to Dallas.
The surprise starter did well. He reflected a number of quick shots at the net, including a penalty shot by Brendan Morrow.
The Stars' Turco, who missed the last two games with flu-like symptoms, stopped 19 shots. He had been expected to start to defend his 14-8-1 record against the Flames.
The Flames (8-4-1) and the Stars (6-4-5) were both coming off two-game slides.
The game started fast and stayed that way. It saw both teams killing penalties. At one point, Dallas had a two-man advantage for 52 seconds but failed to score.
"We've been talking a lot as a group about bringing our compete level up, and we really battled tonight," Iginla said. "It was a step in the right direction."
The Stars gave the Flames lots of work during another early power play in the first, but they kept the play even.
Iginla was full of energy, throwing some hard checks. He claimed the first goal of the night with just a few minutes to go in the second period.
Flames coach Brent Sutter has been giving the team intense practices lately to boost scoring power. Iginla got a black eye during Monday's practice. He said he got it in a battle but didn't name the player who hit him.
Dallas tied it up in the third with a shot by James Neal at 4:49. Loui Eriksson joined him with a goal four minutes later before Langhow's last-minute score.
"We did what we wanted to do against Calgary," Stars coach Marc Crawford said. "We got the puck behind the defence. We really exposed the defence."
"I thought they were on their heels the better part of the night. We generated a number of power-play opportunities."
