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Iginla's hat trick helps Calgary hold off Wild

Sat 22nd, March 2008

Calgary, AB (Sports Network) - Jarome Iginla's seventh career hat trick helped the Calgary Flames defeat the Minnesota Wild, 5-4, at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

Dion Phaneuf posted a goal and two assists for the Flames, who have won two straight and three of their last four games overall. Matthew Lombardi also scored and Anders Eriksson added two assists for Calgary, which closed to within a point of the Wild for first place in the Northwest Division. Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 29-of-33 shots to pick up the win.

Calgary also sits sixth in the Western Conference with 88 points, one point behind Dallas and two points ahead of Vancouver.

Benoit Pouliot and Kim Johnsson each scored two goals for the Wild, who have dropped two of three. Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Marian Gaborik each collected two helpers, while Josh Harding allowed five goals on 31 shots in defeat.

"We kept fighting, which is good," Minnesota forward Brian Rolston said. "We have to play a little tighter."

Iginla broke a 2-2 tie early in the third period. As Alex Tanguay glided down the left wing, he threaded a perfect tape-to-tape pass in the slot that Iginla hammered behind Harding 50 seconds into the final frame.

Iginla completed the natural hat trick when he buried a rebound in the back of the net at the 6:37 mark.

Minnesota made it a one-goal game when Pavol Demitra threw the puck from behind the goal to Johnsson sneaking in from the right point and the defenseman one-timed the puck through traffic with 9:53 remaining.

The Flames regained a two-goal lead off a Minnesota turnover at the offensive blue line. Gaborik was poke-checked at the line and Stephane Yelle sent a long outlet pass to Lombardi flying down the left side. As the speedster approached the top of the left circle, he rifled a slap shot between the legs of Harding with 1:42 left in regulation.

Johnsson lit the lamp again in the final minute, but the Flames managed to hold on for the win.

After a scoreless but contentious first period that featured two scraps between the club's pugilists, Phaneuf, on an unbelievable individual effort, put the Flames on the board three minutes into the middle stanza. Skating shorthanded, the defenseman collected the puck deep in the his own zone, skated the length of the ice, weaving his way through the Wild defenders, before flipping the puck over the blocker of Harding with one hand on his stick.

"It was fun to watch," Iginla said about Phaneuf's incredible goal.

After three consecutive penalty kills by Minnesota, Pouliot caught the Flames in a line change and raced down the right wing on a 2-on-1 break. As he neared the middle of the faceoff circle, Pouliot's attempted cross-ice pass caromed off the skate of Calgary's Cory Sarich and in behind Kiprusoff with 6:48 remaining in the first. It was the rookie's first career NHL goal.

Pouliot gave the Wild a 2-1 lead with 1:36 left, but Iginla knotted the score in the final minute. The Flames captain won a draw back to Phaneuf at the right point and immediately headed to the front of the net, where he backhanded a loose puck behind Harding with 23 seconds to go in the second.

Game Notes

The Flames have notched at least a point in eight straight home outings (6-0-2)...Calgary has won five straight games against the Wild...Minnesota falls to 1-12 with one tie in its last 14 appearances in Calgary...Calgary visits Colorado on Monday, while the Wild conclude their four-game road swing Monday in Edmonton.

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