It wasn’t easy, but the Flames edged Chicago in a classic western shootout to knot the series at 2 apiece. Calgary’s 6-4 win came with a price, though, as it appeared that Daymond Langkow and Craig Conroy may have suffered significant injuries.

Before I go any further, I must address the newest controversy in this crazy postseason! On Eric Nystrom’s game-winner, the Flames committed a hand pass just moments before the deciding goal. It was very subtle, but as Langkow batted the puck down from out of the air, Nystrom tipped… and I mean tipped the puck. It was a hand pass, but it was really only noticed with slow-mo replay. Nevertheless, the play should’ve been blown dead. Thereafter, Langkow passes it to Sarich for a one-timer, and Nystrom bangs home the winner. Another night, another controversy!! Joel Quenneville will not be happy with this one! But Calgary came away victorious, and their 1-2 punch was electric last night.

We’ve all been waiting for Olli Jokinen to break out of his slump… and oh, did he ever! Jokinen, who hadn’t scored in over a dozen games, scored twice in the 2nd period, and had an assist on Adrian Aucoin’s tally. Jokinen’s first goal was a gift from Cam Barker, but his second was nifty as he pushed a backhander behind Khabibulin to give Calgary a 4-1 lead at the time. He played like a possessed man. He back-checked with a purpose, he hounded Chicago’s d-men on the forecheck, and had some other good scoring chances aside from his pair of goals. This is just what the Flames were hoping for when they traded for him at the trade deadline.

The other star in red that elevated his game was Captain Jarome Iginla. After seeing what the Hawks did to him in Game 3, physically and verbally, I had a good idea ‘Iggy’ would play with a vengeance in Game 4. When you keep poking the bear with a stick, eventually he’s gonna get mad! He picked up 2 goals (one EN) and a nice assist on Jokinen’s 2nd goal. And you could tell in the 3rd period that he would not let his team lose. He was a force in the final frame, and was on the ice for almost 9 minutes… that’s defensemen-like minutes!! What a gritty, gutsy effort from the Captain.

Now the series shifts back to the United Center deadlocked at 2. I still think the ‘Hawks have the upper hand. They have the home-ice, and Calgary appeared to lose 2 key centers last night, although their status for the rest of the series is unknown. Chicago’s speed seems to be giving Calgary some fits at times, and they’re getting scoring from almost every line. If Nikolai Khabibulin re-finds his game on Saturday, the ‘Hawks may be able to win this series in 6. But you know the Flames, who currently have the big MO, won’t go down easy. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of this epic series unravels!!

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