Jarome Iginla scored Calgary's second goal and assisted on the game-winner. AP

For the first 40 minutes of this pivotal Game 5, the Calgary Flames were by far the better team. In the end, their best player wouldn't let them lose. With that, the series shifts back to Calgary with the Flames looking to close out the series.

In truth, the Flames have now outplayed the Lightning in two consecutive games. Nikolai Khabibulin's exploits in goal saved Tampa Bay in Game 4 and he made several outstanding saves again in this one, while his team committed turnover after turnover through the first two periods. His good work allowed Martin St. Louis' goal in the final minute of the first and Fredrik Modin's power-play goal one minute into the third to have validity and carry the game into overtime.

Yet, Khabibulin's night mirrored that of his team. If you judge him on the goals he gave up in regulation -- a long deflection along the ice in the first by Martin Gelinas that went through him and a long-range wrister from a steep angle by Jarome Iginla -- rather than on the saves he made, it was an unsatisfactory outing given the stakes. Similarly, just as St. Louis made plays at times and Brad Richards made a nice play on the Modin goal, the Bolts' best players were not consistent enough throughout and made as many gaffes as they did good decisions.

On the game-winner in overtime, Vincent Lecavalier -- another top Lightning player who struggled most of the night -- made a fundamental error by softly flipping the puck at the Flames' blue line, turning the puck over and trapping his team in the midst of a line change. From there, Iginla took over. He got the puck to the shooting area and forced Khabibulin to make a tough save in traffic. He failed to control the rebound and Oleg Saprykin pounced on the loose puck and in an instant became a hero, scoring his first goal in 18 games.

And while the Lightning played better in the third period and in overtime, ultimately their best players let them down. Call it a learning process, a matter of maturity, whatever, but call it what it was -- an opportunity lost. Lecavalier and company simply failed to seize the moment, while Iginla and the Flames did exactly that. They played with the discipline and conviction mysteriously lacking on the part of the Lightning.

In the end, Iginla played nearly 31 minutes -- more than any player, logging over seven minutes of the 14:40 in overtime. In the extra session, he put three of his six shots on goal and played with the passion we've come to expect from the best player in today's game. He has his team on the precipice of hoisting the Stanley Cup -- a notion barely thought possible a scant two months ago.

For the Lightning, they need to regroup yet again and continue their pattern of winning one then losing one that is now at 12 games. Doing so would set the record for consistent inconsistency and force a Game 7 -- a mark certainly within reach, but now much more daunting.

Maybe as daunting as the fact that the Flames are one win from being crowned Stanley Cup champions.

Three Stars

1. Jarome Iginla: Simply awe inspiring.

2. Oleg Saprykin: The hero of the game put in good night's work before his game-winner with six shots on goal, while stepping up and playing nearly 20 minutes with Ville Nieminen out of the lineup due to his one-game suspension.

3. Toni Lydman: Playing his first game since April 11 after suffering a concussion in the first round, he jumped in to play nearly 17 minutes and chipped in with an assist on the first goal -- all valuable contributions.

Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for SI.com.