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Kiprusoff, Flames blank Rangers

Dec 8, 2008 - 4:16 AM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- During the second period, Miikka Kiprusoff faced one shot after another and waited for his teammates to finally get one on Henrik Lundqvist. When they finally did, it resulted in the game-winning goal.

Kiprusoff made 31 saves and captain Jarome Iginla scored with 4:10 remaining in the second as the Calgary Flames posted a 3-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday night.

David Moss tallied for the fourth straight contest as the Flames won for the seventh time in nine games.

Rene Bourque added a shorthanded goal for Calgary, which improved to 2-0-0 on a four-game trip that ends with difficult back-to-back games in Montreal and Detroit.

The Flames were able to secure the win due to Kiprusoff, who stopped 11 shots in the first, 12 in the second and nine more in the third. It was his third shutout of the season and 29th career.

"Kipper was great," Iginla said. "He had a great night and we were opportunistic," Iginla said. "We had two shots and to be able to come out of the second with a lead was a huge boost for us."

Calgary went the first 15:48 without a shot on Lundqvist, but it was a wrist shot from defenseman Dion Phaneuf that setup the game-winner. Two seconds later, the rebound went into the net as Iginla swept a backhander past Lundqvist from the right doorstep.

"It's big," Kiprusoff said. "That's how it usually happens like that. I make some saves in my end and then your teammates just fly and shoot the puck and score. It's nice."

Iginla scored his 14th goal after Rangers defenseman Dmitri Kalinin was unable to clear it from the crease. Michael Cammalleri warded off defenseman Michal Rozsival and dished it to Iginla.

Before Iginla tallied, the Flames missed the net four times and had a shot by defenseman Adrian Aucoin go off the crossbar.

"It's a matter of putting the puck in the net because we had a number of situations that we generated, 2-on-1s, 3-on-1s and we misfired," Calgary coach Mike Keenan said.

While Iginla's tally decided the contest, Moss' eighth gave the Flames some more breathing room. He put the Flames up 2-0 just 1:52 into the third after he drove to the net and tapped in Todd Bertuzzi's centering feed.

It marked the second straight game that Iginla and Moss scored key goals as these tallies came after they struck in the third period Friday in St. Louis.

Coming off an ugly 6-2 loss in Montreal, the Rangers once again fell behind at home, but this time were unable to pull off another shootout victory. They were unable to solve Kiprusoff and were blanked on home ice for the second time in eight days.

"It wasn't a good game," New York center Scott Gomez said. "We have to find a way to put it up or in."

The Rangers had a chance to get back into it with 3:43 remaining in the third when Aucoin's hooking penalty gave them a power play. They failed to capitalize and Bourque won a race to his rebound, circled the net and slipped the puck past Lundqvist.

"They got some fluky goals tonight, and that's too bad because I think we worked hard for our chances and they didn't have to work that hard for theirs," Lundqvist said.

New York last won a regulation game on November 24 when it had a three-goal victory over the Phoenix Coyotes. Since then, the Rangers have won three shootouts and been outscored, 15-4, in their last four contests.

The frustration started early for New York when Ryan Callahan was stopped just 12 seconds into the game, resulting in the first of four man advantages. Those proved fruitless as the Rangers fell to 3-for-30 over the last eight contests and surrendered their league-worst eighth shorthanded goal.

"That really got him on the mark," Keenan said. "It was a little bit of a surprise. He looked ready from that point on."

After robbing Callahan, Kiprusoff denied rookie Lauri Korpikoski's point-blank attempt with 7:40 remaining in the third and then made two more big stops during New York's final power play.

"We knew they'd be ready and we tried to weather the early storm and try to keep as many shots as we could to the outside," Flames defenseman Robyn Regehr said. "I thought Miikka did a great job and made some tremendous saves when he needed him to."