FLAMES BLAST KINGS TO TAKE OVER DIVISION LEAD

The Calgary Flames are poised to clinch the NHL Northwest Division title after a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night at the Pengrowth Saddledome.  The Flames had been running neck and neck with the Vancouver Canucks, but two straight losses have given the advantage back to Calgary.  They can clinch the title with a regulation win over the Canucks at the GM Place in Vancouver on Tuesday night.

After a scoreless first period Daymond Langkow got the Flames on the board with his 21^st goal of the year assisted by Jarome Iginla and Michael Cammalleri.  The Kings would even the score at 10:47 on Wayne Simmonds’s goal assisted by Michal Handzus.  From then on out, it was all Calgary.  Iginla scored his 34^th of the year at the 16:38 mark assisted by Cammalleri and Jordan Leopold to give the Flames a 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission.  The Flames would pour it on in the third period, with Jim Vandermeer scoring his first of the season unassisted at the 3:46 mark and David Moss capping the scoring at 10:46 set up by Craig Conroy and Matt Pelech. 

The Flames’ defense did a nice job of shutting down the Kings attack while their offense kept the pressure on L.A. netminder Erik Ersberg.  For the game, Calgary held a 38-24 shots on goal advantage with most of that coming during a second period onslaught where they outshot the Kings 20-8.  After the game, Flames’ captain Jarome Iginla said his team was excited at the opportunity to clinch the division on Tuesday night:

"This is what you play for. All season, you talk about the division and now we have the opportunity. It's just one game. We're looking forward to it and we feel in back-to-backs, we're due for a lot better performance, too."

Teammate Mike Cammalleri agreed:

"It's really exciting. It makes Tuesday's game, for our team, absolutely huge, and for me personally, probably the biggest game I've played in my NHL career.”

The Flames don’t have an easy stretch run—after the big game Tuesday in Vancouver they have a home and home series against their hated rivals the Edmonton Oilers.  The Oilers are a longshot to make the playoffs, but would love nothing more than to make the Flames miserable.  The two teams will play Friday in Edmonton and Saturday in Calgary.  The Kings, meanwhile, are just playing out the string.  They’ll head to Edmonton on Tuesday and Vancouver on Thursday before returning home to host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.