Jarome Iginla tallied his 1,000th career point to lift Calgary to a 3-2 comeback victory over the St Louis Blues on Friday, keeping the Flames alive in the playoffs hunt.
Iginla scored two goals and had an assist as the ninth-placed Flames (39-29-11, 89 points) kept in touch with the Chicago Blackhawks (42-27-8, 92 points), who hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Calgary have three games remaining in the regular season, while Stanley Cup defending champions Chicago have five.
The Blues built a 2-0 lead on goals by Matt D’Agostini and David Backes before Iginla cut the lead with his first goal of the game in the second period.
“We played a great game for the first two periods,” said Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who assisted both St Louis goals.
Iginla then assisted on Alex Tanguay’s tying goal in the third period before scoring the game winner with just over five minutes left, finishing off a breakaway down the right wing with a snap shot under Jaroslav Halak for his 1,000th point.
DEVILS 4, FLYERS 2
In Newark, New Jersey, Patrik Elias scored his eighth career hat-trick as the Devils kept their faint NHL playoff hopes alive with a win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Brian Rolston set up all three goals by Elias, while rookie Nick Palmieri got the go-ahead goal midway through the third period in what was a must-win game for the Devils. New Jersey have to win their final five games and get a lot of help or they will miss the playoffs for the first time since 1996.
James Van Riemsdyk and Jeff Carter scored for Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia.
BLACKHAWKS 4, BLUE JACKETS 3, SO
In Columbus, Ohio, defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago secured a vital two points with a shootout win over Columbus.
Viktor Stalberg had the only goal in the shootout and Corey Crawford made 31 saves for the Blackhawks, who are eighth in the Western Conference, the last position for a playoff spot.
Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist, while Brent Seabrook and Bryan Bickell also scored for Chicago.
Derick Brassard, Maksim Mayorov and Samuel Pahlsson scored for the Blue Jackets.
In Friday’s other action, it was:
‧ Avalanche 4, Coyotes 3, SO
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