In a 1-0 game, it wasn’t that surprising when the goaltenders were selected as the top two stars, with Calgary’s Mikka Kiprusoff receiving number one and LA’s Jonathan Quick getting second. The third star went to Mike Cammalleri, who scored the lone goal of the game. It was his fifth goal in 14 games since returning to the Flames in a trade with Montreal.
After the game, here’s what was being said back in the Flames locker room…
Captain Jarome Iginla:
On his goalie’s performance – “He’s played as good as I’ve seen him play in his career and that’s counting the Vezina year. All year he’s been outstanding, it’s amazing. He’s having the best year that I can remember. He’s enjoying it too, though.”
On moving into eighth place in the Western Conference – “It’s a big step for us. We look at it as ‘if it didn’t go our way tonight, we could be four points out again by two teams and had kind of been getting close and getting close.’ To finally get there is a big step for us. We believe that we are going in the right direction. We’ve played some tough games and tough teams, different style games, road games, and we’ve been chipping away and stuff. It feels good. It’s been a long time; I don’t think we’ve been in a playoff spot all year.”
Forward Tom Kostopoulos:
On his goalie’s performance – “Same as he’s been all year for us. He’s a game-changer. He’s been like this all year. Hopefully we don’t take it for granted, but he’s unbelievable.”
On his line – “We felt pretty good as a line. We kept talking all night that we’re getting chances. Comeau was really skating hard ad making things go to the net. Cammalleri was all over the middle of the ice, making things happen. It was kind of a lucky bounce, but we got that one.”
Coach Brent Sutter:
On his goalie’s performance – “He was outstanding again. That’s just the way he is. He makes those saves for us, especially those first ones. We did a really good job of not giving those second and third opportunities up. He made some big first saves, obviously, for us throughout the night. It’s just what you expect from Kipper [Kiprusoff].”
On moving into eighth place in the Western Conference – “It was obviously a big game tonight to be able to come and the ability to get a victory and knowing that Phoenix had won. You take it a game at a time. We have a lot of work left and we just need to pick away and it’s going to be a battle right to the end. Every point you can get along the way is huge.”
The Flames are now 2-1 vs. the Kings this season, with both of their wins coming in LA. The fourth and final game of the series will be in Calgary at the end of March.
Notes from the Kings locker room will be up later.
The Mayor
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