If there were any lingering concerns over the embarrassing 9-0 beat down in Boston, they were quickly put on the backburner Saturday night as the captain Jarome Iginla recorded his 500th career goal in a winning effort over the visiting Minnesota Wild.

PHOTO CREDIT - CalgaryFlames.com

Calgary - January 8, 2012 - If there were any lingering concerns over the embarrassing 9-0 beat down in Boston, they were quickly put on the backburner Saturday night as the captain Jarome Iginla recorded his 500th career goal in a winning effort over the visiting Minnesota Wild. Somewhat overshadowed on the night was youngster Lance Bouma recording his first career NHL goal that saw him break a scoreless tie in the early stages of the final period.

The Flames staggered out to a discouraging first ten minutes of the hockey game as they tried to find their legs after a lengthy ceremony in which Olli Jokinen was acknowledged for playing in his 1000th career NHL game a week prior in Nashville. Had it not been for the early game heroics of Miikka Kiprusoff in between the pipes, the outcome of this game could have changed drastically in favor of the visiting Minnesota Wild. Thanks in large part to their goaltender Calgary began to establish a consistent offensive push in the latter stages of the period in which resulted in the Flames outshooting the Wild by a 13-9 margin after twenty minutes of play. A rather uninspiring second period of action from both clubs came and went as neither team was willing to risk anything defensively in order to create an offensive chance that would open the scoring on this night.

Things however did begin to open up as Lance Bouma tallied his first career NHL goal after driving to the net and banging home a Lee Stempniak rebound past a sprawling Nicklas Backstrom at the two minute mark of the third period. A few minutes after Calgary opened the scoring, the captain seemed destined to notch his milestone marker as he rang a howitzer off of the crossbar that nearly ignited the entire arena. The fans clearly did not have to wait too much longer as on his next shift Jarome Iginla flew up the ice when attempting to center a pass from the sideboards that managed to bounce off of two Wild defenders before finding its way to the back off the net. It certainly was not one of the prettiest goals of his career but undeniable one of the most memorable.

It was also perfectly fitting that Iginla would record such a historic goal in a game winning fashion in front of the home fans, on hockey night in Canada no less. Curtis Glencross would round out the Flames scoring on the night as he recorded his team leading sixth power play goal of the season. Unfortunately Calgary native Danny Heatley would ruin Mikka Kiprusoff’s bid for his third shutout of the season when he notched his thirteenth goal of the season with seven minutes remaining on the game clock.

Another headline came on this night as Blair Jones played his first game as a member of the Calgary Flames after being acquired on Friday morning from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defensive prospect Brendan Mikkelson. I personally like this move by Feaster as it addresses Calgary’s need for a big bodied center with a right handed shot. Jones is still relatively young at 25 years of age and has produced some good numbers in the American Hockey League. With the win Calgary snaps their ugly five game losing streak while improving their overall record to a mediocre 19-19-5 on the season.

Congratulations to Jarome Iginla and Lance Bouma for their unforgettable achievements in a Flames uniform!!!!

1. Jarome Iginla
2. Lance Bouma
3. Miikka Kiprusoff

- Mark Giordano (Hamstring)
- Alex Tanguay (Suspected Concussion)
- Scott Hannan (Suspected Concussion)
- Matt Stajan (Lower Body Injury)
- David Moss (Lower Body Injury)
- Derek Smith (High Ankle Sprain)
- Brendan Morrison (Day to Day)
- Henrik Karlsson (MCL Tear)

- Rene Bourque (Has served two of his five game suspension)