Flames 4 Blue Jackets 3
CALGARY — Miikka Kiprusoff stopped two penalty shots and Curtis Glencross added a goal and two assists Friday as the Calgary Flames defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3.
With the win, the Flames (34-24-9) leapfrogged three teams and moved into fifth spot in the ever-changing Western Conference standings.
Rene Bourque and Olli Jokinen chipped in with a goal and an assist each for the Flames, while captain Jarome Iginla scored his 29th goal of the season. Iginla is looking to become the 10th player in NHL history to compile 10 seasons of at least 30 goals.
Starting his 19th straight game, Kiprusoff made 37 saves to record his 30th with of the season, stopping penalty shots by Matt Calvert in the second period and Antoine Vermette in the third.
Vermette had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets (31-26-7), who have lost four straight games to fall to 12th spot in the West. Craig Rivet and Jan Hejda also scored, while Jakub Voracek had two assists.
Columbus netminder Steve Mason made 24 saves.
Vermette swatted a rebound past Kiprusoff to tie the game 2-2 at 1:53 of the second before taking a penalty that would prove costly.
The Flames then went on an extended power play when Vermette took a double minor for high-sticking Calgary forward David Moss.
After Bourque backhanded a rebound past Mason to put Calgary up 3-2, Glencross tipped in a point shot by Anton Babchuk to give the Flames two power-play goals in 81 seconds.
Calvert was awarded his penalty when he was hauled down from behind by Calgary defenceman Mark Giordano, but Kiprusoff made a blocker save to keep the Flames up by a pair heading to the third.
Columbus made it 4-3 at 6:43 of the final period as Hejda blasted a point shot through traffic into the top corner behind Kiprusoff.
Vermette had a chance to tie the game when he was awarded his penalty shot after Babchuk was ruled to have thrown his stick trying to break up the play. Kiprusoff made a save with his left arm to thwart Vermette’s opportunity. The Blue Jackets, who outshot the Flames 16-4 in the third, continued to apply the pressure but were unable beat Kiprusoff.
The Blue Jackets took an early 1-0 lead when Rivet took a pass from Derek MacKenzie and roofed a shot to the top corner over Kiprusoff’s outstretched glove hand at 3:45 of the first.
The Flames tied things at 8:13 when Jokinen converted a feed from Glencross.
At the other end of the ice, Kiprosoff made a great glove grab on a shot off the stick of former Flame Chris Clark. The back-and-forth battle continued as Iginla snapped a shot on net that hit Mason in the shoulder before bouncing up and over the Columbus goalie and just over the line before Rivet could clear it away.
Notes: With Brendan Morrison (knee) and Mikael Backlund (flu) out of the lineup, trade deadline day acquisitions Fredrik Modin and Brett Carson made their debuts in Flames uniforms. ... Columbus forward Samuel Pahlsson played in his 700th career NHL game. ... The Flames improved their record to 21-1-3 when leading after two periods, while the Blue Jackets fell to 3-20-4 when trailing heading into the third.