• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Flames stage late rally to win wild one vs. Kings

Jan 6, 2008 - 7:53 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- After allowing three unanswered goals in the first half of the third period, the Calgary Flames responded with a similar flurry to extend their winning streak.

Kristian Huselius sandwiched goals around Daymond Langkow's second tally of the game as the Flames rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Defenseman Robyn Regehr also scored and captain Jarome Iginla added a tally and two assists for Calgary, which has won five in a row.

"It was an emotional roller coaster for our team trying to come back," Flames coach Mike Keenan said. "But they showed a lot of determination and we were able to succeed in the end."

However, five straight victories does not satisfy Langkow.

"We have to keep winning," he said. "(The standings are) so tight, every game is important. We just have to keep going."

"We've been playing strong lately, and that's what we need," Calgary netminder Miikka Kiprusoff added. "We need to keep winning because our division and the whole conference is so close."

Regehr and Langkow scored in the first 3:39 of the game and Iginla added a power-play goal in the second period, but the Kings tallied three times in the first half of the third session to grab a 4-3 lead.

"We got off to a 2-0 lead early, and I have to give LA credit for sticking with it," Iginla said. "The goal (I scored) to go up 3-1, I thought, was a big goal. But they came with a big flurry in the third and tied it up."

However, Huselius began Calgary's comeback with 6:55 remaining, receiving a cross-slot feed from Iginla and beating goaltender Jason LaBarbera from the bottom of the right faceoff circle during a power play for his 19th of the season.

"I was thinking, 'Shoot or Kristian goes for that spot,' and he was wide open there," Iginla said. "A nice one-timer. At that point, to be able to get on the power play was big. ... You know it's a big time in the game and it's nice to see that go in as a momentum-switcher."

Just 1:50 later, Langkow banged in a loose puck from the left side of the crease during a man advantage to give the Flames a 5-4 edge.

"It was a scramble in front," Langkow said. "I just went to the net and the puck was on the side. I just had to get it over his pads."

"It's frustrating for me as a goalie," LaBarbera said. "When your team comes back like that, you feel like maybe you let your teammates down. It would have been nice to come up with a save at the end, but for whatever reason, the puck was making weird plays around the net, and unfortunately, it's ending up in the back of the net."

Huselius sealed the win with an empty-netter in the final seconds, giving Calgary three goals on four shots in the period.

"We were sloppy," Kings defenseman Rob Blake said. "In the third period, we got the lead, then we got sloppy after that. The puck was turned over, we had bad penalty-killing. That's why we're in last place. We've been in last place all year because of that."

Regehr opened the scoring when he fired a shot from that left point that broke the stick of Los Angeles' Raitis Ivanans before fluttering over LaBarbera 2:37 into the contest.

"I couldn't tell you how that went in," LaBarbera said. "I knew he was shooting it, but then I heard everyone go, 'Oh,' and I wondered what happened. It's kind of a start to the night right there."

Langkow doubled the advantage just 62 seconds later, picking up the puck after Owen Nolan's shot was blocked and putting it between LaBarbera's legs from the inner edge of the right circle for his 15th of the season.

"A rebound came back out and I was turning and shooting, trying to get as much wood on it as I could," Langkow said. "Fortunately, I got a little bit lucky there when it went between his legs."

Alexander Frolov got the Kings on the board at 6:14 of the second period. After Kiprusoff went behind the net to play the puck, Frolov chased him, took it away and wrapped it into the vacant net.

Iginla restored Calgary's two-goal bulge with 6:46 left in the session, beating LaBarbera with a quick snap shot from the left circle. It was the Flames captain's fifth goal in three games and seventh tally during his team's winning streak.

Defenseman Brad Stuart kicked off the Kings' barrage at 2:08 of the third, wristing a shot from the left point past Kiprusoff. Ladislav Nagy jabbed in a loose puck from the right side 2:40 later, and Anze Kopitar cashed in during a 5-on-3 power play at 10:12 to give Los Angeles a 4-3 lead.

Blake's slap shot from just above the slot was stopped by Kiprusoff. But Regehr shoved Kyle Calder into the goalie, and the Slovenian Kopitar found the loose puck in the crease and buried it for his 17th of the campaign.

"I think our guys showed a lot of character and desperation to get themselves back in the game," Los Angeles coach Marc Crawford said. "They did the things they needed to do to score goals, but unfortunately, we had to score too many tonight."

The Kings remained on a two-man advantage, but the Flames were able to successfully kill the penalties.

"I thought our killers did a great job at that point for morale, to still give us a chance," Iginla said. "If they get another one there, it doesn't feel very good on our bench. It was definitely a roller coaster of emotions the whole game. You're trying to hang on, keep going, then they come back."