Photo: The Canadian Press, Jeff McIntosh
On a night meant to celebrate victories, both on the ice and in the lives of cancer survivors around the world, the Calgary Flames didn’t disappoint. After trailing for much of the game, the Flames scored two goals in 1:29 to take the lead and the important two points in this opening round of the Battle of Alberta. It’s the 9th consecutive win at the Dome for the Flames while hosting the Oilers.
Edmonton’s Tom Gilbert scored at 6:42 of the first period and the Oilers coasted on that lead for much of the game. The Flames pressed hard in the 2nd period, but couldn’t seem to get the puck to stay on their sticks. They only really had 4 good scoring chanced in the period, but Olli Jokinen’s open net, off the post one was the best. Typical Jokinen. Pfft!
But the Flames didn’t disappoint in the 3rd period. Jay Bouwmeester scored his first goal of the season on a wrist shot from the slot to tie it. One minute and twenty-nine seconds later, Alex Tanguay whacked a rebound past Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk to give the Flames the victory.
The first half of the game was pretty boring as far as the Battle of Alberta goes. But the final 30 minutes were great.
Miikka Kiprusoff made some big saves for his 264th win in a Calgary Flames uniform, but none were bigger than the one he made on Oilers rookie Anton Lander in the dying seconds of the game. In what looked like a sure goal situation, Kipper showed why he’s a Vezina-calibre goalie by stretching his right pad across the net and getting a corner of his pad on the shot.
The win was a big one for the Flames, who started a 6-game homestand tonight. Their next game is on Thursday against the New York Rangers.
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.
