From all definitions of the word, the Calgary Flames 3-2 shootout victory was of the character variety, according to their associate coach.
With a lineup that continues to be ravaged from injuries — tonight you can add Mikael Backlund to the list with an upper-body injury — the Flames held on, thanks in large part to the goaltending of Mikka Kiprusoff.
“Kipper was outstanding as usual and gave us a chance to win the hockey game,” Craig Hartsburg said.
“It was a huge game for us. The building had so much energy in it and with our schedule, this is our fourth in six days, travel and lots of injuries so our guys had to dig really deep.
“It certainly wasn’t pretty at times but we battled for everything in that hockey game and deserved the two points.”
The Flames held a two-goal lead early in the second frame, courtesy of goals from Mike Cammalleri and Roman Horak. However the Canucks chipped it down with a late goal in the second by Cody Hodgson and then David Booth tied it up in the third.
Captain Jarome Iginla sealed the victory when he deked out Roberto Luongo in the shootout.
On the Canucks side, head coach Alain Vigneault called the game his team’s best performance at the end of their four game road trip.
“To tell you the truth, we played a real good game tonight from start to finish,” he said of his team who sits atop the Northwest Division. We had in my mind, this was probably our best game of the road trip and we lost.
“That’s hockey sometimes.
“Both teams were battling hard but I really liked the way we played. I thought we should have won it in regulation but sometimes that happens.”
Hartsburg had no update on Backlund who left in the second period with an upper body injury after a scuffle with Andrew Alberts. He said they should know more on the injury on Monday.
Flames host their annual skill competition on Sunday before they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
