Music: {allcanada} Flames beat Blue Jackets, jump to 5th place

Friday, March 4, 2011

{allcanada} Flames beat Blue Jackets, jump to 5th place

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CALGARY, Alberta (AP)—Rene Bourque (notes) and Curtis Glencross (notes) scored power-play goals in a 1:21 span midway through the second period with Columbus' Antoine Vermette (notes) serving a double-minor for high-sticking in the Calgary Flames' 4-3 victory over the Blue Jackets on Friday night.

A night after Columbus' R.J. Umberger (notes) missed on a penalty shot in a loss in Edmonton, the Blue Jackets failed on two chances against Miikka Kiprusoff (notes). Matt Calvert (notes) failed to score on the first attempt in the second period and Vermette missed with a chance to tie it midway through the third.

Jarome Iginla (notes) and Olli Jokinen (notes) scored first-period goals for Calgary, 14-3-3 in its last 20 games. The Flames jumped from a tie for seventh place to fifth alone in the congested Western Conference standings.

Kiprusoff, making his 19th straight start, made 37 saves for his 30th victory.

Iginla has 29 goals in his bid to become the 10th NHL player to score at least 30 goals in 10 seasons.

Glencross also had two assists.

Craig Rivet (notes) opened the scoring for Columbus in the first and Vermette tied it in the second before taking the costly penalty. Jan Hejda (notes) cut it to 3-2 early in the third.

Columbus has lost four straight, all on the road, to fall to 12th in the West.

Columbus goalie Steve Mason (notes) made 24 saves.

The Flames went on the key extended power play when Vermette high-sticked David Moss (notes).

After Bourque backhanded a rebound past Mason to put Calgary up 3-2, Glencross tipped in a point shot.

Calvert was awarded his penalty when he was hauled down from behind by defenseman Mark Giordano (notes), but Kiprusoff made a blocker save to keep the Flames up by a pair heading to the third.

Columbus made it 4-3 at 6:43 of the final period when Hejda blasted a point shot through traffic into the top corner behind Kiprusoff.

Vermette had a chance to tie it when he was awarded his penalty shot after Anton Babchuk (notes) was ruled to have thrown his stick trying to break up the play. Kiprusoff made stopped Vermette with his left arm.

NOTES: The Blue Jackets outshot the Flames 16-4 in the third. … With Brendan Morrison (notes) (knee) and Mikael Backlund (notes) (flu) out of the lineup, trade-deadline acquisitions Fredrik Modin (notes) and Brett Carson (notes) made Flames debuts. … Columbus forward Samuel Pahlsson (notes) played in his 700th regular-season game.