Calgary 1988 Olympic torch (photo: Government of Canada)
Mike Cammalleri scored his 200th career NHL goal into the empty-net with 1:26 remaining in the game to seal the win in a wild west shootout. In addition to Cammalleri’s 200th in his career, the goal was also his 3rd of the game, marking his 5th career hat trick.
Jay Bouwmeester opened the scoring for the Flames just over 3 minutes into the game and Jiri Hudler and Cammalleri each added a goal to give the Flames an early 3-0 lead. Midway thought the period expired, former Flames 4th-liner Eric Nystrom tallied for the Stars to bring them within 2 goals, but as time dwindled, Roman Cervenka scored his 2nd of the season to regain the 3-goal lead.
Dallas captain Brendan Morrow scored less than a minute into the 2nd period, once again bringing the Stars within two goals. Then Cammalleri and Morrow exchanged goals about 24 seconds apart to make the score 5-3.
With 8 minutes left in the 2nd, Curtis Glencross regained the 3-goal lead for the Flames for the 4th time in the game. That lead stuck for the rest of the period, but was cut to 2 1:05 into the third period when Cody Eakin scored his first of the season.
It was definitely not a goaltender’s battle tonight, and the lacklustre performance by Leland Irving brought into question whether he’s truly NHL material. He had a very shaky game, letting in a few weak goals. Luckily for the Flames, they were on fire and Stars rookie goalie Richard Bachman was no better than Irving.
To his credit, Irving tightened up his game when it mattered most and kept the Stars off the board when they pressed late, allowing the Flames to celebrate the Olympic Anniversary with 2 important points.
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.
