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Iginla's goal leads Flames over Blues

Nov 5, 2006 - 3:52 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Star right wing Jarome Iginla came up big to help the Calgary Flames end their losing streak.

Iginla scored the game-winning goal late in the third period to lift the Flames to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues.

Matthew Lombardi and Byron Ritchie scored the other goals for Calgary, which snapped a four-game losing streak.

"When you look around our room, our players paid a price to win," said Calgary coach Jim Playfair, whose club played its fifth game in eight nights. "There are guys that maybe should not have played in the third period that went in there and played."

Iginla's goal came on the power play at 15:33 of the third period. He picked up a loose puck by the boards, outworked two St. Louis defenders and blasted a shot from the slot that went over screened St. Louis goaltender Manny Legace's shoulder.

"At that point you're looking to try and get it through traffic, try to get a bounce, try to get not too cute," said Iginla, who has eight goals this season.

"Jarome came off the wall," Legace said. "I did not know who was in front, there were two or three guys. It went in my strong side, but I did not see it."

With St. Louis trailing, 2-0, late in the first period, Bill Guerin halved the deficit at 14:48 when he jammed a rebound past Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff during a scramble in front of the net.

The Blues tied the game when Keith Tkachuk fired a snap shot from the slot past Kiprusoff just 1:54 into the second period.

Kiprusoff, who finished with 28 saves, was especially sharp in the final period, when the Blues outshot the Flames, 17-8.

"We let them have too many chances in the third period," Kiprusoff said. "Our defense was not good."

Legace recorded 20 stops for the Blues, who went 0-for-2 on the power play. The Flames, who entered with the 23rd-ranked power-play unit in the league, went 1-for-2 with the extra skater.

Calgary, which went 1-1-1 on its road trip, now looks forward to playing four of its next five at home and hopes the victory will serve as a springboard.

"We've been talking so much lately about getting off to a (good) start and finding ways to win a game," Iginla said. "Tonight was that game."

The Blues, who have lost four of five, had an opportunity against a struggling and tired club, but could not take advantage.

"We probably played 50 minutes tonight, and the 10 that we did not play killed us in the end," said Tkachuk, who has two goals and 10 assists this season. "It is a very disappointing loss. This is not a time when we can squander away points like that."