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Phaneuf, Cammalleri keep Flames hot

Oct 31, 2008 - 5:10 AM CALGARY, Alberta (Ticker) -- A pair of power-play goals in the second period cooled off a hot goaltender and helped keep the Calgary Flames scorching.

Defenseman Dion Phaneuf and Mike Cammalleri each recorded a power-play tally and an assist as the Flames posted their fifth straight win Thursday, a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins.

Dustin Boyd also tallied and captain Jarome Iginla notched two assists for the Flames, who outshot the Bruins, 38-31.

"It's really great to see we're getting some depth in the scoring department," Calgary coach Mike Keenan said. "Our younger players are playing well, and that makes them feel good about their contribution, especially when they get rewarded for their strong efforts. It builds confidence in the group, and they know there are different ways to win each and every night."

Patrice Bergeron put Boston on top in the first period, pouncing on a loose puck after goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff mishandled it behind the net. Bergeron gained control below the end line and knocked the puck into the vacant net at 6:53 for his second goal of the season.

"It was totally my mistake," said Kiprusoff, who has been in net for each of the Flames' five straight wins. "(Bergeron) just scooped the puck away. Luckily, we were able to win the game even after giving up a goal like that."

The Bruins stayed in front until the second session, when they hurt themselves with a number of penalties.

Phaneuf evened the contest at 2:29. Iginla fired a pass from the right faceoff circle that deflected off the stick of a defender, leaving the charging defenseman with an easy chance to roof the puck over goaltender Tim Thomas.

The tally snapped a scoreless streak of 154 minutes, 42 seconds for Thomas, who had posted a pair of 1-0 shutouts earlier in the week at Edmonton and Vancouver.

Phaneuf set up the Flames' second goal late in the middle session that made it 2-1. The 23-year-old received a pass high above the slot and wristed a shot that made it through traffic before being deflected past Thomas by Cammalleri with 83 seconds remaining in the period.

"I just threw my stick out there," Cammalleri said. "If Dion shoots it, I'm going to the net. I guess it hit me."

Calgary outshot Boston, 20-9, during the second session, recording 13 of those shots on four power-play opportunities.

"We need to be better than that," Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said. "We basically gave them the momentum in the second period and gave them those two goals. We need to be stronger with our play, and especially playing the puck in our zone on the penalty kill. It's costing us a lot of energy when we're taking penalties like that and other teams get momentum from it."

Boyd gave the Flames a two-goal lead at 5:40 of the third, beating Thomas with a wrist shot from close range during a 2-on-1 rush.

"I thought about the pass, but I looked at the defenseman and he had it taken away," Boyd said. "I get the puck on net and anything can happen. If you don't shoot, you can't score."

Blake Wheeler halved the deficit with 7:44 left, but Boston was unable to score the equalizer despite applying heavy pressure late in the contest.

Thomas finished with 35 saves for Boston, which had its three-game winning streak snapped.

"We got four out of six points on the western swing, a tough western swing, too," Thomas said. "We went Edmonton, Vancouver and then back to Calgary. It was a lot of travel, bouncing around. We would have hoped after getting the first four (points) to get more out of it than that, but that's not the way it worked out."

Kiprusoff turned aside 29 shots for Calgary.