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Lombardi, Roy help Flames continue success at home

Jan 31, 2009 - 6:19 AM CALGARY, Alberta (Ticker) -- The All-Star break did not slow down the Calgary Flames' momentum at home.

Matthew Lombardi and enforcer Andre Roy scored second-period goals to help the Flames post a 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Friday.

Defenseman Adrian Aucoin tallied with the man advantage and Miikka Kiprusoff made 28 saves as the Flames swept the four-game season series for the first time in team history. They had dropped 10-of-13 meetings with the Predators prior to this campaign.

"It's tough to try and stop them," Kiprusoff said. "In the first half of the game, we controlled it, but after that, they got a little boost. We were able to stick to our game plan, and we did all right. We've been playing well lately, and we have to keep pushing, keep getting better."

Calgary, which improved to 10-1-0 in its last 11 contests at home, raised its overall record at the Pengrowth Saddledome this season to 19-5-3.

"We've been playing well for (Kiprusoff), from the first and second line to the fourth," Roy said. "Everybody's been contributing in different games. I think we've still got a lot of work to do.

"We're playing pretty well, but we've got to keep playing hard every game. It's getting tighter and tighter as it goes on."

J.P. Dumont netted the lone goal for Nashville, which fell to 2-8-1 on the road since a 6-3 setback against the St. Louis Blues on December 8.

"We didn't have our best start," Predators defenseman Dan Hamhuis said. "For the first 30 minutes, we didn't play well. In the second half, we played better, but we were too far behind to come back."

With the win, the Flames punctuated a perfect three-game homestand two nights after defeating the Buffalo Sabres, 5-2.

Lombardi, who has recorded eight points in his last nine contests, opened the scoring at 7:23 of the second period by deflecting Curtis Glencross' initial attempt while stationed in the low slot.

"I've been getting a lot of chances," Lombardi said. "I just haven't been finding the back of the net. My linemates made great plays and it just found the back of the net."

Roy fired a slap shot past rookie goaltender Pekka Rinne just over five minutes later to double the lead.

"It's always good to contribute," Roy said. "I think it makes it easier for everybody when there is scoring from the third and fourth line or the defense. I think if everybody contributes like that, we'll continue to be successful."

Dumont halved the deficit 7:57 into the third, wristing a shot past Kiprusoff for his 10th goal of the season.

But Kiprusoff redeemed himself shortly thereafter by stopping Ryan Jones on a potential game-tying attempt with an acrobatic move, coming across the crease and poking away the puck in front of the net.

"He's a great goalie, and he's going to make one of those saves once in a while," Jones said. "Unfortunately, (they're) on my side."

Lombardi praised Kiprusoff for his game-saving stop.

"He looked like he was right out of it, and he comes out and makes a big save," Lombardi said. "The guys who have played with him for a few years have come to know him that way, that he can make a great save when it looks like he's down and out."

Aucoin restored the two-goal bulge and secured the victory by unleashing a slap shot from the left faceoff circle that beat Rinne with 7 1/2 minutes remaining.

"We're playing with confidence," Aucoin said. "We had a good second period. Closing out the third was really big for us."

Rinne, who started for the Rookies in the YoungStars Game during All-Star Weekend in Montreal, made 29 saves.

Meanwhile, Kiprusoff notched his league-leading 30th win of the season and improved to 7-1-1 in his last nine starts against Nashville thanks to a solid effort from the supporting cast.

"That (secondary scoring) is a really important part of our success right now," Flames coach Mike Keenan said. "Everyone is contributing when a group like (Eric) Nystrom, (Dustin) Boyd and Roy can come up and score goals. They're asked to do an awful lot of work without a lot of notoriety.

"On harder nights, you look for energy from other players, and that's what we're getting right now."