CALGARY – Jarome Iginla had a goal and an assist Monday night to lead the Calgary Flames to a pivotal 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
Calgary moved two points ahead of Vancouver in the race for first place in the Northwest Division and can clinch top spot with a regulation victory over the Canucks at GM Place on Tuesday. The slumping Flames entered the night with four losses in its last six games and having scored just six goals over that span.
Calgary’s slumbering offence finally awoke in the second period . While outshooting Los Angeles 19-5, the Flames connected for a pair of even strength goals to take a 2-1 lead.
Iginla scored the go-ahead goal at 16:38 when he one-timed a feed from Mike Cammalleri before Kings goalie Erik Ersberg could slide across.
Daymond Langkow, David Moss and Jim Vandermeer, with his first goal in 75 games, also scored for Calgary (45-28-6). Cammalleri snapped a six-game pointless drought with a pair of assists.
Wayne Simmonds scored the lone goal for Los Angeles (32-36-11).
The Kings three-game Western Canadian road trip continues Tuesday night in Edmonton in a must-win game for the Oilers.
Calgary opened up some breathing room in the third period, going ahead 3-1 on a rare goal from Vandermeer, who hadn’t scored since Jan. 24, 2008. The veteran defenceman mishandling the puck in front of the Los Angeles net, but it was knocked in by the stick of trailing Kings defenceman Jack Johnson.
Moss rounded out the scoring at 10:46, finally getting his 20th goal of the season. Entering the night without a goal in his last 15 games, Moss swooped in off the right wing and made a neat move to his backhand to beat Ersberg.
Trailing 1-0, Los Angeles tied it at 10:47 of the second when Michal Handzus won a face-off back to Simmonds who snapped a shot past Miikka Kiprusoff.
If would be the lone goal the Flames netminder would surrender on 24 shots, improving his record to 45-22-5.
Ersberg was peppered for 38 shots in seeing his record fall to 8-11-5.
Calgary took a 1-0 lead at 2:05 of the second when Langkow jabbed a puck from a scramble in front of the Kings net.
In a mostly uneventful and scoreless first period, the best chance for either team belonged to Calgary, which had a 64 second two-man advantage.
However, Calgary’s slumping power play could not capitalize. Entering the night on an 0-for-25 skid with the extra man, the Flames did not generate a single shot on goal.
The Flames finished 0-for-6 with the extra man, also failing to score on a 1:33 two-man advantage in the third period.
For the second game in a row, Calgary did not dress a full line-up going with just 17 skaters. Pressed up against the NHL salary cap, the Flames have been unable to recall enough players to replaced their current injuries.
Notes: Flames defenceman Matt Pelech had an assist for his first NHL point… Los Angeles forward Justin Williams played in his 500th NHL game… Calgary sweeps the season series 4-0-0 and has won ten of its last 11 meetings with the Kings… Calgary has not won consecutive games on home ice since Feb. 24 and 27… Calgary’s Olli Jokinen has no goals in his last 10 games while Todd Bertuzzi has just one goal in his last 14 games… Calgary’s record in the back end of back-to-back games is 2-9-1.
