In what was called the most furious, fast and entertaining game on Saturday night, the Flames prevailed to “fix†their opponents and sustain their winning streak to six. The title of the story was Mikka who had been sensational throughout the 60 minutes of play. Albeit the Flames had been impressive initially, unwarranted penalties against Sarich (interference) and Boyd (slashing) opened the shooting gallery for the Kings who out shot the Flames 11-8 in the first period. Nevertheless, it was the visiting team who scored first – Nystrom at the 16:20 marker of the first.
Although the Flames seemed disorganized at one point they managed to capitalize on their second power play opportunity. The goal scored by Aucoin at the 6:04 marker with Bertuzzi drawing an assist which gave them a 2-0 lead. Phaneuf’s holding penalty at 8:25 was skilfully killed thanks to the great efforts of Mikka who rose to the occasion to save his net and Primeau’s effective penalty killing drive. Of noteworthy, the Flames also missed scoring a short handed goal. After trailing by two, the Kings demonstrated a lot of offensive power and aggressive penalty killing in the second period; and it was Jim Vandermeer’s hooking penalty that opened the scoreboard for the Kings – a goal that had been inadvertently redirected from Phaneuf’s skate and surprised Kipper – a goal that changed the momentum of the game as the Kings turned the pressure on the Flames who experienced some difficulty clearing the puck from their zone. Hostility in the form of punches between Jim Vandermeer and Sullivan added spice to the game, but it was the Flames who received an extra penalty. The Flames seemed to be reverting back to their old ways again as Rene Bourque was called for cross checking and this provided the Kings an opportunity to get back into the game. Shots on goal after the second were 26-14 in favour of Kings.
The King’s efforts were well justified with a goal by Oscar Moller scored at the 14:50 marker to tie the game at 2 in the 3rd. This goal served as a waking call for the Flames who were back on the scoreboard with a 3-2 lead – a well timed effort by Langkow at the 16:23 marker. An interference penalty to Iginla at the 18:19 marker gave the Kings a chance to empty the net and get the two men advantage during the final minutes of play. During this critical moment, there was a scramble for the puck as 10 players on ice blanketed Kipper; each struggling to get hold of the puck that seemed to be flying everywhere. In desperation, the Kings wanted to tie the game and break the winning streak for the Flames, while the latter were anxious to protect their one goal lead. However, it was Mikka who stood tall and made a total of 34 saves to save his team mates and earn them the title of the hottest team in the hockey league.
The key stars in the game: Mikka Kippersoff. Oscar Moller and Wayne Primeau
The Kings were 1/5 in power play with 15 shots
The Flames were 1/3 with 2 shots on the power play.
The Calgary Flames began their California trip on a positive note with a win over the LA Kings. Chalk this win up to some stellar goaltending as Miikka Kiprusoff stood tall in the Flames net making some amazing saves late in the third after LA tied the game. Sometimes you have to be lucky to be good and the Flames were lucky extending their win streak to six games off a Daymond Langkow goal from a sweet Bertuzzi feed. No rest though for the FLames as they play tomorrow against the Ducks.