Mark Giordano scored 4:30 into overtime to give the Flames a 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers last night in Calgary, a victory marred by an injury to leading scorer Jarome Iginla.
Calgary scored when Stephane Yelle won a faceoff from Jozef Stumpel and drew the puck back to Dion Phaneuf. He then fed a pass across to Giordano, who fired a slap shot past Alex Auld.
Iginla left the game in the second period after suffering a lower-body injury in a fight with Panthers defenseman Bryan Allen.
At 9:35 of the second period, the Flames' captain challenged Allen to a fight in retaliation for Allen's heavy hit on Chuck Kobasew earlier in the game that knocked the Flames forward from the game.
It was a spirited fight that ended up with Iginla on top of Allen. Nothing appeared wrong initially as Iginla served his fighting major. However, upon exiting the penalty box, Iginla went to the Flames' dressing room and did not return.
Without Iginla on the bench, Calgary's 2-1 third-period lead evaporated on two goals by Rostislav Olesz and the first NHL goal for David Booth. However, trailing, 4-2, the Flames launched their own comeback. Byron Ritchie got Calgary back within one at 16:54 and David Moss took Jeff Friesen's pass and moved out front before tucking a shot inside the far post to tie it 4-4 at 18:22 and set the stage for Calgary's first overtime win of the season.
Sharks 9, Red Wings 4 -- Patrick Marleau had a goal and three assists while becoming San Jose's career scoring leader, and Joe Thornton contributed four assists during the Sharks' rally from a three-goal deficit to beat visiting Detroit.
Stars 6, Oilers 5 -- Sergei Zubov and Jussi Jokinen scored in a shootout as visiting Dallas rallied from a 4-1 deficit and overcame a late tying goal to beat Edmonton. Devils 4, Islanders 3 -- Zach Parise scored two goals and Martin Brodeur made 40 saves to lead host New Jersey.
Rangers 3, Flyers 2 -- Martin Straka's sixth NHL hat trick pushed him over the 20-goal mark for the sixth time and carried host New York to its third straight victory.
Capitals 5, Canadiens 1 -- Dainius Zubrus and Alexander Semin each scored twice, Alex Ovechkin had three assists, and host Washington ended its five-game losing streak.
Coyotes 2, Hurricanes 0 -- Curtis Joseph made 29 saves in his second straight shutout and visiting Phoenix beat slumping Carolina.
Blues 2, Blackhawks 0 -- Lee Stempniak and Dennis Wideman each scored to lead St. Louis over visiting Chicago.
Lightning 3, Wild 2 -- Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier scored goals for Tampa Bay, which ended Minnesota's eight-game home winning streak.