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DETROIT (Ticker) -- The
Calgary Flames
finally added the
Detroit Red Wings
to their list of elite victims.
Defenseman
Steve Montador
and rookie
Matthew Lombardi
scored 25 seconds apart early in the second period as the Flames extended their unbeaten streak to six games with a 4-1 victory over the
Red Wings
.
Calgary has defeated Colorado twice and Ottawa once during the push for its first playoff berth in eight years. But the Flames managed just two goals in losing their first three meetings with the
Red Wings
this season.
"Whether it's been to stop the bleeding or to keep it from being a long slump, we have found a way to win very important games this year," Calgary captain
Jarome Iginla
said. "In the past, we didn't find a way to win those games."
The losing streak ended at Joe Louis Arena, where Calgary had not won since October 10, 2001.
Stephane Yelle
was credited with his first goal in 27 games on the Flames' lone shot of the first period. Defenseman
Jordan Leopold
drove to the goal line and threw the puck in front, where it hit Yelle's skate and caromed past goaltender
Manny Legace
.
"It's nice," Yelle said. "It's been a while."
Legace thought the goal should have been reviewed, if not disallowed.
"I thought that first one was kicked in," he said. "He didn't make a full kick, but he had to make a kicking motion to get it in."
Montador also ended a 26-game drought 2:54 into the second to make it 2-0 and Lombardi broke down the slot and redirected a centering pass from
Chuck Kobasew
on the next shift.
Montador took a shot at a couple of teammates, saying, "I didn't want to be a
Robyn Regehr
or a
Rhett Warrener
. I want to get my pace to one a year, so I'm pretty happy with it."
Kirk Maltby
got Detroit on the board at 15:50, but
Craig Conroy
restored Calgary's three-goal lead with 44 seconds to go in the period.
"They came out flat and we took advantage of it," Flames coach Darryl Sutter said. "Those two shifts in the second period changed the game. To be honest, I thought we played better last week (against Detroit) than we did tonight."
Legace made just 14 saves for the
Red Wings
, who had an eight-game unbeaten streak snapped.
"(Calgary) played a good road game," Detroit left wing
Brendan Shanahan
said. "Once they got ahead, they sat back and let us bring the play to them. It's not very entertaining for the fans, but it's effective."
The loss could prove costly for the
Red Wings
, who lost star defenseman
Derian Hatcher
to a left shoulder injury in the third period. Playing his fifth game since returning from knee surgery, he collided with left wing
Chris Simon
and will have an MRI on Wednesday.
"I thought it was just one of those nights when everything went wrong for us and everything went right for them," Detroit coach Dave Lewis said.
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