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Flames flickering as regular season comes to end

Apr 11, 2009 - 6:25 AM By Andy Lefkowitz Stats Editor

Edmonton (38-34-9) at Calgary (45-30-6), 10:00 p.m. EDT

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -- The Calgary Flames are headed to the postseason, but injuries and a lackluster power-play unit already threaten to make their playoff run a short one.

The Flames will have one final chance to deal with one issue and address the other on Saturday night when they close out a home-and-home set and the regular season against the Edmonton Oilers at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

Calgary skated with only three lines in a 5-1 loss at Edmonton on Friday in the latest chapter of the "Battle of Alberta." Michael Cammalleri's team-high 37th goal with 7:18 to play prevented the Flames from being blanked for the fourth time since March 25.

Short-handed Calgary (45-30-6) was without defensemen Dion Phaneuf, Robyn Regehr (lower-body) and Cory Sarich (foot). The hard-hitting Phaneuf, whose injury wasn't disclosed, is expected back for this contest.

"We were missing some key players, which was tough," said Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff. "But it can't be used as an excuse. It was a huge game for us and we didn't play that strong."

The Flames have won at least 42 games for the fifth straight season and are still in the mix for their first Northwest Division title since 2005-06, but they could be relegated to the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference by the time they hit the ice.

The Canucks will play last-place Colorado earlier Saturday in Denver, and need one point from that contest to win the division and secure the third seed. If Vancouver loses and the Flames win in regulation, both teams would finish with 98 points but Calgary would take the division because it has one more victory.

"We lost control of our situation tonight," Calgary captain Jarome Iginla said. "We have to wait and see what Vancouver does now. That's unfortunate from our side. Hopefully, we still have an opportunity to win our division."

A bigger problem for the Flames is their inability to score with the man advantage. After going 0-for-4 against the Oilers, Calgary hasn't scored in its last 40 power-play opportunities over nine games.

Mike Keenan's club has managed 11 goals in that span en route to a 3-6-0 record.

Kiprusoff, the NHL's leader with 45 wins, stopped 28 of 31 shots Friday before being lifted for Curtis McElhinney. Kiprusoff is 26-8-4 with a 2.55 goals-against average at home this season, and has given up eight goals while going 1-1-0 there against the Oilers.

Edmonton (38-34-9), which is out of the playoffs for the third straight season, wanted to show the fans that it was playing for more than pride.

"Obviously we wanted to have a strong effort to finish at home, especially against Calgary," said Ales Kotalik, who opened the scoring with his 20th goal. "We wanted to show that we still care and have heart and we did that tonight."

After watching 39-year-old Dwayne Roloson make 36 consecutive starts, rookie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers stopped 31 shots for his fourth win and first since beating the New York Rangers on Nov. 10.

Deslauriers, who will also likely be in net for the season finale, is 4-2-0 with a 2.64 GAA as a starter this season. He made 26 saves Oct. 17 in the Oilers' 4-3 win at Calgary.

Edmonton defenseman Denis Grebeshkov had two assists Friday. He's totaled four assists and five points in his last two visits to the Saddledome.