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Glencross has hat trick in Flames' win over Canes

Feb 4, 2010 - 6:35 AM CALGARY, Alberta(AP) -- The Calgary Flames have plenty of new players in their lineup, but a guy who has been with them all season long made the difference in a win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Curtis Glencross recorded his first NHL hat trick to lead the Flames to a 4-1 victory on Wednesday night.

"It's something I'll never forget," said Glencross, who has 14 goals this season. "It's nice to get that feeling again."

Calgary coach Brent Sutter stressed that the 27-year-old forward has to keep it up for the remainder of the season.

"We expect Curtis to play a certain way every night," Sutter said. "We need him to dig in every game for us. We know he can skate, but he's got to be involved in the game. When he's involved in the game, he thinks the game the right way and he's very responsibly defensively."

Playing on a line with captain Jarome Iginla and fellow newcomer Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan notched the winning goal in the second period as Calgary improved to 28-21-8 and overtook Detroit for eighth place in the Western Conference.

"It's a weight off my shoulders getting that first one," said Stajan, who played his second game with the Flames after being acquired from Toronto in a seven-player trade on Sunday. "Just like the start of the season, you want to get that first one out of the way. More importantly we played a good team game. Our penalty kill was awesome."

Carolina went 1 for 9 on the power play, and captain Eric Staal scored the Hurricanes' lone goal during a second-period advantage.

"We just didn't get enough on the power play," said Staal, who extended his point streak to 10 games. "We got one, but it would have been nice to get a few more."

The Hurricanes have lost two straight following a four-game winning streak.

"We could sit ... and moan about how poorly we played, but Calgary played a good game," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said. "Hard, fast and disciplined in terms of their positioning and physical."

Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 27 shots to earn his 25th win of the season. Carolina's Cam Ward made 35 saves.

Stajan was acquired along with forwards Jamal Mayers and Hagman and defenseman Ian White for defenseman Dion Phaneuf, forward Fredrik Sjostrom and defensive prospect Keith Aulie.

Forward Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins made their debuts for the Flames after being acquired on Monday from the New York Rangers for Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust.

"I thought they did a good job," said Sutter, who put Daymond Langkow at center between the two newest Flames. "I thought that Daymond handled it well playing with two new guys."

On the heels of a lackluster performance during a 3-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, the Flames showed jump in the first period.

Following a strong shift by Langkow between Higgins and Kotalik, the checking line of Eric Nystrom, Mayers and Glencross continued to hem the Hurricanes inside their own zone.

That pressure paid off as Glencross drove hard toward the net in pursuit of a rebound when the puck deflected off his body and into the Carolina net behind Ward at 2:54 of the first.

Carolina had a great opportunity late in the period when it had a two-man advantage for 36 seconds, but the Flames killed off the power play.

The Hurricanes tied it at 7:19 of the second period when Staal deflected a shot by Jussi Jokinen past Kiprusoff on another Carolina power play.

With the teams playing 4-on-4 late in the second, Stajan and Glencross scored 52 seconds apart.

While cutting toward the net on the right side, Stajan kicked a pass from Iginla onto his stick before tucking the puck into the far corner. Glencross then took a cross-ice pass from Jay Bouwmeester and blasted a slap shot to the short side past Ward.

Glencross finished the scoring with an empty-net goal at 18:58 of the third.

"I was surprised, I didn't even know the goalie was out," Glencross said. "I thought I just had a breakaway."

NOTES: D Joe Corvo returned to the Carolina lineup after missing 28 games due to a leg injury. ... After recording just 18 shots against Philadelphia on Monday, the Flames surpassed that total by the 12-minute mark of the second period. ... The Flames are 3-9-3 in their past 15 games.