• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Lundmark, Nystrom help Flames jolt Wild

Mar 29, 2009 - 6:38 AM CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -- The way the Calgary Flames kept losing goals, it seemed they might never get one to stick.

Eric Nystrom scored the eventual winner in a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night, but it didn't come until a pair of apparent power-play goals by Olli Jokinen and Curtis Glencross were disallowed by referee Eric Furlatt.

"The first one looked like it was pretty legit, but at the same time the referee doesn't get to look at the scoreboard and see the instant replay so he is just going with what he sees on the ice," Nystrom said. "Things happen so fast out there that they just make the call and they can't reverse their own call. That's what's tough about being a referee."

Jamie Lundmark had a goal and an assist, Daymond Langkow also scored, and Miikka Kiprusoff made only 13 saves in earning his NHL-leading 43rd win of the season.

Andrew Brunette and James Sheppard scored for Minnesota, three points behind eighth-place Edmonton and St. Louis at the playoff cutoff in the Western Conference. The Wild will visit Edmonton on Sunday night.

"We're supposed to be fighting for our lives here to get into the playoffs and it's just not a good effort tonight," Wild forward Owen Nolan said.

Niklas Backstrom kept the Wild in the game as he made 37 saves, including 18 in the first period when Minnesota was outshot 20-5.

"In hockey, you never give up," Backstrom said. "You go out there and you battle until the buzzer or until someone says the season is over. Until then you fight."

After Wild rookie Cal Clutterbuck took a rare clipping penalty, the Flames appeared to pull ahead when Jokinen slapped a shot past Backstrom. Furlatt immediately waved off the goal because Glencross was called for impeding with Backstrom in the crease.

"We looked at it after, and it was not in the crease," Calgary coach Mike Keenan said. "His foot was in the crease and then he moved it out. It was probably in the crease two seconds before the puck went in net and then out, so missed call."

The Flames regained control of the puck on that power play, and Glencross appeared to score when he tipped a point shot by Jarome Iginla past Backstrom. Furlatt again waved off the goal because Glencross tipped the puck with a high stick. The call was upheld after a video review.

"It's a ref's discretion, obviously, and sometimes that happens," Glencross said. "We all just kind of shook our heads and put it behind us. You know it was still a tight game there and we just had to go forward with it."

Calgary's persistence finally paid off when Iginla made a nice pass across to Nystrom, who one-timed a shot into the top corner to make it 3-2.

The Flames carried the play early, but the Wild scored first when Brunette swatted a rebound past Kiprusoff 11:56 into the game.

Calgary tied it at 13:23 when Lundmark's snap shot from the right circle beat Niklas Backstrom high to the glove side. The goal snapped a scoreless span of 133 minutes, 51 seconds for the Flames, who were shut out in back-to-back games at Pittsburgh and Columbus on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Flames took a 2-1 lead with 4:23 left in the first when Langkow converted a feed from Todd Bertuzzi, who outbattled Minnesota defenseman Martin Skoula behind the net before throwing the puck out front to his linemate.

Sheppard scored his first goal in 26 games 11:13 into the second to bring Minnesota into a 2-2 tie.