Dustin Boyd had 2 goals and Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf added a goal and assist each to give the Calgary Flames a 4-3 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Flames, who had dropped 4 of their last 5 games were looking for a win against the Maple Leafs to get some of their mojo back. Thanks to Boyd’s 2nd goal of the game at 11:13 of the 3rd period, the Flames managed to do just that. But the end of the game wasn’t without it’s excitement, despite a 4-1 lead for the Flames.
Never really ready to roll over and die, the Maple Leafs came back with 2 goals late in the 3rd period to make it a game. The most impressive one was Matt Stajan’s with 54 seconds left. He put a bouncing shot on Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff right off the faceoff and it managed to find a way into the net. It was the kind of goal that any goaltender would like back, and one that many fans could not believe. The Flames fans were thinking, “WTF?” while the blue-and-white-clad Leafs Nation jumped, cheered and spilled their beer on themselves.
But the excitement was short lived as the Flames held on for another 54 seconds and took the 2 points. The win put the Flames back in sole possession of 1st place in the NW division, one point ahead of Vancouver and 2 up on Minnesota.
The Flames will face the top team in the NHL on Thursday when they travel to San Jose to face the Sharks. They will be without Jim Vandermeer (who is out 4-6 weeks with a broken ankle), and possibly Mike Cammalleri who is battling the Flu.
Greg is the founder of Red Mile Blog has been following the Flames through good times and bad since they arrived in Calgary in the early 80s. He has written hundreds of articles on the Flames since 2005 and considers himself an expert on hockey inconsistency and frustration. He shoots right and usually plays defence, but has been known to jump up in the rush. He is a 2-time CAHL men's league champion and knows the sweet taste of beer from a Cup.
