(Sports Network) - Jarome Iginla posted a goal and two assists to lead the Calgary Flames to a 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Saddledome.

Daymond Langkow, Jay Bouwmeester, Curtis Glencross and Dion Phaneuf also scored for the Flames, who have won two straight games. Miikka Kiprusoff finished with 27 saves in the victory.

"We created some offense off our 5-on-5 tonight," said Flames coach Brent Sutter. "We directed a lot of pucks at the net. We were able to make some plays in tight where we had guys going to the net, some high traffic goals."

Rick Nash scored his fourth goal of the season while Derick Brassard added a goal and an assist for Columbus, which saw its three-game win streak halted. Jakub Voracek also scored in the losing effort.

Columbus goaltender Steve Mason allowed six goals on 22 shots.

With the score tied 3-3 in the second period, a great individual effort by Phaneuf put the Flames ahead for good. Phaneuf started the play with the puck behind his own goal, skated and maneuvered the length of the ice and fired a wrist shot from the high slot that beat Mason at 13:44.

"Obviously when you let a weak goal in, it affects your confidence and the rest of the guys on your team too," said Mason. "Tonight we just couldn't bounce back from it."

Iginla sealed the win with his third goal, a laser wrist shot from the right circle with 7:14 remaining in regulation, and Fredrik Sjostrom's sweeping wrist shot after a Savardian-spin on a partial breakaway in the waning minutes capped the scoring.

Before four minutes elapsed in the opening period, the Flames held a 2-0 lead.

Langkow's second goal of the season started the scoring at the 2:42 mark. A nice effort by Rene Bourque kept the puck in the Calgary offensive zone along the right side before Bourque passed across the blue line for a shot by Bouwmeester. The puck deflected off a defender's skate and caromed directly to Langkow, who was all alone in the slow slot for an easy shot into an open net.

Just over a minute later, a 2-on-1 down low led to a two-goal edge. After a pass from atop the left circle near the half-wall, Craig Conroy held control below the circle before he passed across the low slot to Glencross, whose tap- in tally from near the right post occurred at 3:57.

The Blue Jackets were whistled for two minor penalties within 38 seconds of each other following Glencross' goal and the Flames skated with a two-man advantage. But it was the speedy Nash who cashed in. A clear from the Blue Jackets defensive zone led to a race for the loose puck, which Nash won and skated in on a partial breakaway and he lit the lamp with his team skating two men down at the 6:08 mark of the first stanza.

Bouwmeester's rebound marker midway through the session made it 3-1.

Columbus returned the favor in the second period with a pair of quick goals inside the first two minutes of play, both of which were scored on the power play. Robyn Regehr was whistled for holding the stick at the first period buzzer, and only 25 seconds into the second, Langkow went off for hooking.

Skating 5-on-3, the Jackets set up shop in the zone and a blazing one-timer from the centerpoint by Anton Stralman was deflected home by Brassard from in front 52 ticks into the stanza.

Only Regehr exited the box, and the visitors continued to skate on the power play. A nice tic-tac-toe passing play led to Voracek's tally at the 1:40 mark. Antoine Vermette held control along the rear boards to the right of the net and he passed to the top of the near circle for Brassard, who quickly spotted Voracek and fired a pass to him across the slot. From inside the left circle, Voracek's quick snap shot flew past the sprawling Kiprusoff.

Game Notes

The Flames have won four straight and six of their last seven at home versus the Blue Jackets...Columbus was 2-for-7 on the power play, while the Flames were scoreless on five chances with the extra skater.





Copyright 2009 The Sports Network
All rights reserved

 Email To Friend