Iginla gets 2 assists, Bruins beat Flames 2-0
With the emotions and hoopla of playing against his former team now a week and some 2,500 miles behind him, Jarome Iginla felt more relaxed facing Calgary again.
Iginla assisted on Zdeno Chara's two power-play goals, which were all the Boston Bruins needed in a 2-0 shutout of the Flames on Tuesday night.
David Krejci also had two assists and Tuukka Rask made 21 saves for the Bruins, who beat the Flames a week before in Iginla's first game as an opponent against Calgary. Iginla received a warm welcome back, but did not register a point in Boston's 2-1 win against the team he captained for nine of his 16 seasons with the Flames.
''Last week for myself, it felt a little bit different. This was more business,'' said Iginla, who has 13 assists in his first season with the Bruins. He was traded to Pittsburgh last March, then signed with Boston as a free agent in the offseason.
Boston was coming off a 6-2 loss at Vancouver on Saturday, when Rask was pulled after allowing four goals on 23 shots. Rask's teammates helped him recover from shaky performance by holding the Flames to 21 shots, including just four in the second period.
''We regrouped in the second and really never looked back after that,'' said Rask, who got his third shutout of the season.
Reto Berra had a much busier night at the other end and played well enough to keep Calgary close, stopping 29 shots.
''We played pretty good, especially in the first period. We had our chances,'' Berra said. ''I think we fight. We try. We do everything. ... There's no other way than just keep going like that and the luck will come back on our side for sure.''
The Bruins shut out Calgary for the third straight time in Boston, capitalizing on two costly high-sticking calls against Lance Bouma.
The first was a double-minor 5:23 into the second period, and Chara scored less than 2 minutes later on a slap shot to give Boston a 1-0 lead. Krejci settled a high pass from Iginla and set up Chara for a booming one-timer with 12:22 left in the period.
''That's tough on a goalie there,'' Iginla said. ''As hard as he shoots it, it finds holes.''
Bouma was called for another high stick in the third and the same combination scored again for the Bruins. This time it was Krejci passing to Iginla, whose shot from the left circle wound up between Chara's skates for an easy poke into the net with 16:41 left.
''Lance works so hard and he's such a great young man to work with that we all felt bad,'' Calgary coach Bob Hartley said. ''He's a great guy - a great team guy. No one does it on purpose. That's something that he'll have to learn, but it's going to come with time and it's going to come with experience.''
NOTES: Boston forward Craig Cunningham made his NHL debut. ... Bruins forward Shawn Thornton, who is appealing a 15-game suspension for punching and injuring Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik, did not play. ... The Flames have not scored in Boston since Oct. 19, 2006, when Alex Tanguay connected with 9:36 left in the third period.
