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 Khabibulin improved to 19-5-2 against Calgary, his highest win total against any NHL opponent. He also was Tampa Bay's goalie in 2004 when the Lightning defeated the Flames in the Stanley Cup finals.
Khabibulin was busiest in the third period, when the Flames outshot Chicago 12-6 but couldn't get the tying goal.
With 4 minutes left, Jarome Iginla nearly evened it at 2 during a scramble in the crease but Khabibulin stuck out his arm and swept the puck off the goal line.
Duncan Keith, Patrick Sharp, and Yanic Perreault, with an empty-netter, scored for Chicago.
The Blackhawks picked up their first win on a season-high seven-game road trip (1-2-1) but remain nine points back of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Adrian Aucoin scored for Calgary.
The Flames also had a chance to tie it at 2 early in the third with Chicago's Brent Sopel and Martin Havlat in the penalty box. They squandered the 1-minute, two-man advantage by failing to generate a shot until the final seconds.
After a scoreless first period, Chicago outshot the Flames 14-5 in the second in taking a 2-1 lead.
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The Blackhawks opened the scoring at 7:14 of the second when Keith took a pass from Robert Lang and fired a 40-foot slap shot that beat Miikka Kiprusoff between the legs.
The lead lasted only 4 minutes before Aucoin answered back on a slap shot of his own from a similar distance.
Sharp broke the tie at 15:07 with his 25th of the season.
Notes: Chicago rookie Jonathan Toews (knee) missed his 16th game. The Blackhawks are 5-9-2 without him. ... Chicago won just its second in regulation in 18 games since Dec. 26. The Blackhawks are 5-10-3 in that span with the other victories coming in shootouts.
[Associated Press]
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