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Iginla's tally lifts Flames in goaltending battle

Oct 13, 2006 - 2:56 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- It was a shame either Ray Emery or Miikka Kiprusoff had to lose.

Jarome Iginla scored off a deflection midway through the third period to lead the Calgary Flames to a 1-0 victory against the Ottawa Senators.

After digging out the puck from against the boards, Kristian Huselius' shot was deflected by Ottawa's Mike Fisher to the slot, where Iginla easily slipped it past Emery.

"Huselius was kind of just walking out in front and forced the shot and it went over to Iginla and he put it in the side of the net," Emery said. "They play a really good defensive style, and they don't really give up much, so you can't get soft and give them a lead or they'll shut you down really well."

Iginla's second tally of the season spoiled a brilliant goaltending duel.

Kiprusoff stopped 33 shots - including 18 in the final session - to post his first shutout of the season and the 18th of his career. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner led the NHL with 10 blankings last season and posted five during the 2004 playoffs, when he led the Flames to the Stanley Cup Finals.

"We're hoping for an opportunity to tie the game up, but we never got it done Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "All in all, I thought we played alright. It's just that the other team played a bit better tonight.

"It's no secret, the guy at the other end is a great goalie. For us the difference was that we had scoring chances and had some odd-man rushes, but we couldn't beat them."

It was the first time this season the Flames opened the scoring in a game. It also was just their fifth goal of the campaign.

"In our first three games, we were forcing the play at times, and I think that's where the complications come in," Flames coach Jim Playfair said. "I thought that we responded well."

"The most important thing for us was to play to our identity," Flames defenseman Robyn Regehr said. "It got away from us the first two weeks of the season. It's very satisfying to get a win here, in such a tough battle. We just wanted to be physical."

Emery was nearly as good as Kiprusoff, stopping 27 shots in his season debut. In his only other career start against Calgary, the second-year netminder suffered his first NHL loss - a 2-1 overtime defeat on December 10, 2005.

Ottawa has lost three straight on its home ice - four straight dating to last season. It was only the second time in club history the Senators have been shut out by the Flames.