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 Jarome Iginla might have been held off the scoresheet, but the
longtime Calgary Flames captain and current Boston Bruins right
winger did leave with a smile on his face as his squad rallied for
Tuesday's 2-1 victory in his return to the city he called home for
so long.
Bruins center David Krejci and left winger Reilly Smith scored in a
98-second span in the third period as Boston (21-8-2) stormed back
after a slow start, while Iginla received a standing ovation before
the opening faceoff and another after being named the third star of
the night.
Right winger Jiri Hudler had the lone goal for the Flames (11-15-4).
"It was definitely emotional. I really appreciated the fans," said
Iginla, who spent 16 seasons with the Flames organization before
being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins last season and then signing
with the Bruins as a free agent in the offseason.
"I wanted to come back and have fun and was hoping it would be
memorable and, all the way around, it was. It was fun to come back
in the third period as a team and play strong and get a win and make
it even more special.
"Third-period comebacks are always fun and especially in an already
memorable game for myself, it was a nice ending."
Iginla is arguably the all-time fan favorite at the Scotiabank
Saddledome, was Calgary's captain for a decade from 2003-13 and also
owns the franchise record for most career points (1,095) and goals
(525), among other things.
The 36-year-old was saluted with a video presentation prior to the
opening faceoff and waved his stick to the crowd during a standing
ovation that lasted more than two minutes.
He was cheered again the first few times he touched the puck against
his former team and the building roared when he did multiple loops
after being named the third star.
"That was pretty forced," said Iginla, who finished with four shots
on goal and two hits in 21:36 of action. "(Bruins captain Zdeno
Chara) and all the guys came out and wouldn't let me off the ice. I
went for one little loop and they were like, 'No, no, you've got to
go one more' and then they made me go one more, too. It was fun and
it was nice of the fans. They probably wanted me off the ice by
then, too."
The Flames probably wished they could leave a few minutes early.
They limited Iginla and the Bruins to just nine shots through the
first two periods, grabbing a lead on Hudler's second-period strike
from the side-boards, but the Bruins started to swarm in the final
period.
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With Flames center Joe Colborne serving a delay-of-game
penalty, Krejci deflected defenseman Torey Krug's point shot
past Reto Berra on a power play to tie it up with only 6:11
remaining.
Smith's game-winner came on a rush down the right wing at the
15:27 mark as the Bruins completed the comeback. All told, the
out-of-towners fired 15 shots in the final frame.
"We had too many shifts in the third where we were just giving
the puck back to them. We had full control, no reason to throw
it away, and we did," said Flames captain Mark Giordano.
"There's no excuse for that. We have to get better at that. A
one-goal lead in your building with under 10 (minutes) to play,
you almost have to find ways to make those automatic wins."
Added Flames left winger Michael Cammalleri: "Not pleased with
our third period, to say the least. We were playing, obviously,
a very capable team that we have respect for on the other side.
But at the same time, we have to take onus on ourselves and
realize that we have to make things harder for them."
Goaltender Tuukka Rask made 26 stops for the Bruins, while Berra
finished with 22 saves.
Next up for the Flames is Thursday's visit from the Carolina
Hurricanes, while the Bruins are en route to Edmonton to face
the Oilers the same night.
NOTES: The Bruins moved LW Loui Eriksson, who suffered two
concussions in a five-week span, to injured reserve Tuesday. The
team also revealed that D Dougie Hamilton would miss two to four
weeks due to a lower-body injury suffered in Sunday. ... LW
Daniel Paille was a surprise addition to Boston's lengthy
injured list due to an upper-body issue, prompting the emergency
recall of RW Nick Johnson from AHL Providence. ... Bruins D
Johnny Boychuk, who played junior hockey with the Western Hockey
League's Calgary Hitmen, returned after missing two games with a
sore back ... For the Flames, LW Curtis Glencross (knee) and C/W
TJ Galiardi (back) are practicing with the team and should
return soon. Glencross missed his 15th consecutive game, while
Galiardi sat out his eighth... Bruins C Gregory Campbell skated
in his 600th NHL game ... Bruins LW Shawn Thornton, who is
suspended indefinitely for a sucker punch that sent Penguins D
Brooks Orpik to hospital, will have an in-person disciplinary
hearing Friday at the NHL headquarters in New York.
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