Dion Phaneuf revs Flames power play in 5-1 win over Avalanche
The Hockey News
Ranked 26th in the NHL with the extra man, the Flames' first three goals all came with the man advantage and a fourth goal coming just one second after a power play expired. The pivotal stretch in the game came early in the second with Calgary up 1-0 when Colorado's Paul Stastny and Brett Clark were assessed coincidental minor penalties.
On the ensuing 5-on-3, the Flames needed only 18 seconds to convert with Phaneuf one-timing a hard slapshot past Jose Theodore from the blue-line at 3:15.
A minute and 15 seconds later with the Avalanche still down a man, Matthew Lombardi was at the side of the net to knock in Chuck Kobasew's rebound, giving Calgary a 3-0 lead.
Jarome Iginla, Roman Hamrlik, and former Avalanche star Alex Tanguay also scored for Calgary (11-10-2).
The Flames rebound from back-to-back road defeats to win its sixth in a row at the Pengrowth Saddledome. Calgary is now tied with the Avalanche in the tight Northwest Division.
Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski had third period goals for Colorado (11-11-2). The two rookies are both in the top five in NHL rookie scoring.
Calgary struck first at 14:51 of the first period when Iginla scored his team-leading 12th goal with nine seconds left in a double-minor to Marek Svatos for high-sticking.
Daymond Langkow slid the puck over to Phaneuf at the blue-line, whose low slapshot was deflected by Iginla past goaltender Jose Theodore.
Calgary led 4-0 in the third period when Stastny banged in puck a from a scramble 59 seconds into the period with the Avalanche enjoying a two-man advantage.
Tanguay, in his first game against his former team, restored Calgary's four-goal lead at 4:07 whipping in a shot from the slot.
Miikka Kiprusoff finished with 23 saves while the much busier Theodore had 32 stops.
Notes: Kiprusoff's 77th career victory with the Flames moves him past Phil Myre into fourth spot for most career wins... Calgary improves to 6-0 when Tanguay had a multiple point game... Calgary LW Jeff Friesen has gone 35 games without a goal... Former Flame Jordan Leopold, recovering from hernia surgery, is expected to make his Colorado debut Saturday night in Vancouver.
