Flames score three times in the final period to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 and run their winning streak to five games

The night kicked off on a high note with Miikka Kiprusoff’s No. 34 going to the rafters.

It took a while — a long while — but the night ended on a high note for the Calgary Flames, too, in a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night at the Saddledome.

After a horrid first period that ended with the Flames trailing 2-0 while being outshot 14-3, things didn’t look any better when Jeff Carter tallied three minutes into the third period and gave the Penguins a 3-1 edge.

Then, Nazem Kadri scored a highlight-reel worthy goal, Blake Coleman tied the game 32 seconds after that, and Yegor Sharangovich netted his second of the night with 50 seconds on the clock to complete a wild comeback.

“Unbelievable. That’s certainly one of the more exciting games I’ve been a part of,” Kadri said. “That’s just who we are. We don’t back down. We don’t quit.”

Considering the low morale among the team on Friday in the aftermath of the latest trade that sent a pending unrestricted free agent packing in Chris Tanev, it would have been no shock if the Flames waved the white flag on the night. Instead, fans — and the bevy of former players on hand for Kiprusoff’s moment — were treated to a thriller.

“We wanted to get the special night,” Coleman said. “Everybody’s really happy for Kipper and his family, and it’s really cool to see how much support he received tonight and how much he meant to this city. To honour him with a win is special.”

Added Mikael Backlund, the lone player who was a teammate of Kiprusoff’s and created the final two goals: “It felt great winning in front of some legends up in the stands.”

Goalie Jacob Markstrom recovered from surrendering a dud of a goal to open the scoring and finished with 27 saves.

With their first five-game winning streak since late in the 2021-22 campaign, the Flames are five points back of the Los Angeles Kings for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot with 22 games remaining.

It will be a wild comeback for the Flames to make the Stanley Cup tournament, especially with at least one more veteran departure expected in Noah Hanifin before the March 8 trade deadline.

“Fortunately we’ve done it enough this year that we have the belief we can win games that way. There’s no quit,” Coleman said.