NHL Game Summary - Calgary at Minnesota
(Thursday, March 22nd)
Final Score: Minnesota 3, Calgary 2 (SO)
St. Paul, MN (Sports Network) - Devin Setoguchi scored in the fourth round of
the shootout, lifting the Minnesota Wild to a come-from-behind 3-2 win over
the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.
The Wild scored two unanswered goals in regulation after falling behind 2-0,
tying the game when Darroll Powe knocked the puck just over the goal line with
7:37 remaining in the third period.
Josh Harding made three saves in the shootout -- the other shot was wide --
and Setoguchi scored with a snap shot into the top left corner of the net to
beat Miikka Kiprusoff.
Harding then denied Blake Comeau at the other end to seal the victory for the
Wild and send the scuffling Flames to their fourth straight loss.
Dany Heatley had a power play goal for the Wild, who went 2-3 on a five-game
homestand, and Harding made 27 saves. Minnesota captain Mikko Koivu returned
from a 15-game absence due to a shoulder injury and played 22 minutes.
Lee Stempniak and Anton Babchuk scored power play goals for the Flames while
Kiprusoff stopped 28 shots, including two in overtime.
The Flames entered the game two points out of a playoff spot and remained on
the outside looking in. Afterward, they closed the locker room for 10 or 15
minutes before the media was allowed in.
"It's a tough loss, there's no question about that," said Calgary captain
Jarome Iginla. "We were in good shape and in control of that game and we got
ourselves back into penalty trouble and lost momentum and didn't get it back."
It looked good for the Flames until Heatley scored on a one-timer from the
left circle in the second period to pull Minnesota within 2-1 and Powe tied
the game with a goal in the third period that had to be reviewed.
Powe banged away in front, slipping the puck beneath Kiprusoff and sending it
trickling toward the goal line. Flames forward Matt Stajan swiped it out, but
arrived too late.
Replays clearly showed the puck cross the line before he sticked it away.
The Wild snapped a four-game losing streak to the Flames in the final game
between the teams this season despite falling behind 2-0. Setoguchi gave
credit to the team's fourth line for "buzzing" around the ice and drawing a
couple of penalties on Calgary.
"That swung the game in our favor," he said. "It woke everybody up."
Earlier, Stempniak picked up a loose puck in front and sent it between the
blocker and left pad of Harding to make it 1-0 with 66 seconds left in the
first. Babchuk then scored 98 seconds into the middle period on a slap shot
from above the left circle.
The Flames finished 2-for-6 on the power play, while Minnesota went 1-for-6.
Game Notes
The Flames had won the last four meetings after dropping the previous four,
including the first game of the season between the teams...Calgary is 0-1-3 on
the heels of a five-game winning streak...The Wild have won back-to-back games
for the first time since Feb. 19 and 23.
03/22 23:32:02 ET
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