NHL Update: Calgary Flames knock down Montreal Canadiens, 4-0
Rene Bourque lit the lamp twice to lift Calgary Flames to a 4-0 victory against Montreal Canadiens, at Heritage Classic on Sunday.
Miikka Kiprusoff was red-hot in freezing temperatures, turning away 39 shots for his fourth shutout of the season.
Anton Babchuk and Alex Tanguay also found the net for Calgary, which has won three consecutive games and picked up at least a point in six of its previous seven contests. Tanguay earned an assist and Brendan Morrison assisted twice in the win.
Carey Price allowed all four goals on 37 shots for Montreal, which has dropped for the sixth time in seven play-offs.
Canadiens defensemen P.K. Subban and Hal Gill both were called for tripping penalties within 33 seconds of first period, leading to Flames’ first goal.
Calgary cashed in for 1-0 lead with just seconds left in the power play, as Tanguay let go a shot from the left circle down to the goal mouth, where Bourque deflected it home just eight minutes into the period.
"It's always important (to score) on a 5-on-3. You get momentum off it if you can get a goal. If you don't, it gives the other team momentum. So we really wanted to bear down." said Tanguay.
Flames went further ahead by 2-0 lead with another special team’s shorthanded goal with nearly seven minutes left in the middle session.
Flames put a good pressure in the Canadiens end regardless of Jay Bouwmeester's interference penalty. Curtis Glencross battled off a check in the right corner and sent a pass into the left side of the slot for Babchuk, who fired a one-timer that
found its way to the net.
Calgary quickly topped its lead to 3-0 on Bourque's second goal of the game just two minutes later. The goal came when Bourque rushed alone down the left side and pulled Price out of the Canadiens net with a fake move to his backhand. He then
cut across in front and chipped the puck into the net.
Tanguay jammed home a power play goal halfway through the final frame to seal the win at 4-0. The goal was set up by Jarome Iginla, who flipped a pass through legs of Gill into the goal mouth.
Kiprusoff stopped eight shots in the opening frame, 21 in the middle and added 10 saves in the final period to earn his 38th career shutout.
"The first period was really cold. We had to stand outside (because) there was some problem with the ice," said Kiprusoff. "The second and third (periods) I felt good."
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