Flames comeback keeps playoff holes alive
There's still a flicker of hope in the Calgary Flames' playoff aspirations.
Alex Tanguay scored in the first round of a shootout to give the Flames a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.
Calgary, down 4-1 early in the third period, is ninth in the Western Conference, a point behind eighth-place Chicago for the final playoff spot. Calgary has five games left, while Chicago has eight to play.
The victory was only the Flames' second in their last eight games.
Former Oiler Steve Staios forced overtime, beating Devan Dubnyk with a slap shot with 1:55 left in the third.
''That was awesome,'' said Jarome Iginla, who had two power-play goals. ''That felt as great as any goal we have scored all year. Everybody jumped when he scored. That was a playoff game for us. That was our playoff lives and we get to live again.''
Iginla started the comeback at 5:55 of the third with second goal of the game and 36th of the season.
Curtis Glencross made it 4-3 with 7:51 left off an assist from Iginla.
''It was an unbelievable comeback,'' Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff said. ''Everybody knows how huge those points were for us. We have to be pretty happy right now.''
Magnus Paajarvi, Teemu Hartikainen, Colin Fraser and Ryan Jones scored for Edmonton. The Oilers, last overall in the NHL, have lost nine in a row.
''We knew they were a team pushing for the playoffs and that they were going to sell the farm to try to do it,'' Jones said. ''It would have been great. If you look at the game in its entirety, for the first 50 minutes, we showed signs that we were going to be a great hockey team.''
Oilers coach Tom Renney bristled at suggestions that his team has nothing to play for but a chance to serve as spoilers.
''There's lots to fight for,'' Renney said. ''This is about securing your NHL opportunity and continuing to work on our identity as a team. This is about making sure that our opponents have respect for us in terms of how hard we play. That has to translate into winning at some point in time.''
NOTES: Kiprusoff made 17 saves. ... Calgary forward Niklas Hagman missed his second consecutive game because of concussion-like symptoms.
