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CALGARY, Alberta (Ticker) -- It took six tries, but the Calgary Flames finally recorded a home victory. Roman Turek made 30 saves and reigning scoring champion Jarome Iginla had a goal and an assist to lead the Flames to a 3-0 blanking of the Buffalo Sabres. Calgary was 0-2-2-1 at the Pengrowth Saddledome but gave Turek the only offense he needed 27 seconds into the game. Stationed on the doorstep, Iginla - who led the NHL with 96 points last season - tipped defenseman Toni Lydman's wrist shot from the blue line past goaltender Martin Biron for his third goal of the season. "I felt good," Iginla said. "It was nice to get some breaks, for sure. It was great to be out there with (Craig) Conroy and (Martin) Gelinas, they're great skaters. These days away were good and gave us a chance to get refreshed. I think one of the key things was to get that early goal and put them back for a while." "Our fans were waiting for our first home win for a long time," Turek added. "We have to continue to play like this and be ready for a five-game road trip." Lydman and Chris Drury also scored for Calgary, which ended a 0-1-1-2 skid with its third win of the season. After posting five shutouts last season, Turek stopped 12 shots in the first period and 11 in the second before making his toughest saves in the final session for his 21st career shutout. "Some shots I saw all the way, some shots I could not find the puck, so the guys helped me," Turek said. "I clean up the rebounds on others. That's how we're supposed to play." Biron made just 14 saves for the Sabres, who have one win in their last eight games and are 0-2-1-0 on a six-game road trip. "You look at our road scoring," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "We'll just shuffle the deck for tomorrow and change the lines around. If we're going to end up 1-0, 2-0 on the road, we can just shuffle things around." Midway through the first period, Lydman gave the Flames a two-goal advantage, firing another shot from the blue line that beat Biron to the stick side. The two-point game matched a career high for the 25-year-old Finn. With Buffalo on the power play late in the second, the Flames capitalized on a turnover to increase their lead. As former Sabres defenseman Bob Boughner watched from the penalty box, Stephane Yelle intercepted a pass and sent Drury in alone on Biron. After faking a wrist shot, the 1999 Calder Trophy winner let go a backhander that Biron stopped with his right leg. Without stopping his forward motion, Drury poked the loose puck under the goalie for his fourth tally. "I didn't come here looking for numbers, but I figure if you come here, work hard, good things will happen," Drury said. "I just got a good chance, got a good rush down the ice. The guy made a good save, but I was able to get the rebound." Turek, who improved to 3-4-2, faced many shots in the first two periods but few of quality before J.P. Dumont's attempt from the side of the net was snuffed. "If a goalie gets a shutout, it's a team shutout," Turek said. "Big thanks to the teammates for this play." The Sabres' best chance to get on the board came from captain Stu Barnes, who slid the puck through the crease from the right side late in the third. "Our power play created some chances, we just didn't convert," Ruff said. "We attacked the net a couple of times. We got the puck there, we just didn't win the battle for the puck." |
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