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Saturday, Nov. 11 7:30pm ET
Flames hold on in third for win | |||||
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BOX SCORE
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The game couldn't end fast enough for Mike Vernon and the Calgary Flames. Oleg Saprykin had two goals and Vernon withstood a late barrage as the Flames beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 Saturday night. The Lightning peppered Vernon during a late third-period power play. He stopped strong chances by Fredrik Modin, Vincent Lecavalier and Mike Johnson during the final two minutes. "It's a good thing there wasn't another minute left," Vernon said. "They never quit coming. We managed to hold them off." After just 17 shots during two periods, the Lightning had 15 in the final period. "We just ran out of time," Tampa Bay coach Steve Ludzik said. "We had them on the ropes." Saprykin, who had just one goal in 21 career games, twice gave Calgary two-goal leads. "We try to do the same thing every night, stay together as a team," Saprykin said. "We have so many games, you can't do it by yourself." Jarome Iginla and Marc Savard also scored for the Flames, unbeaten in three games (2-0-1). "I thought we played a pretty solid game for the most part," Flames coach Don Hay said. "We gave them an opportunity to get back in the game and they took it. We have to find ways to finish off teams when we have that opportunity." Savard, who also had an assist, made it 4-2 with a power-play goal with 10:55 left. He has two goals and six assists during a five-game point streak. Johnson, Lecavalier and Modin scored for Tampa Bay. Despite having their three-game winning streak end, the Lightning still lead the Southeast Division by one point over Carolina and Washington. It's just the third time Tampa Bay has been in sole possession of first place after 10 games and first since 1995. Iginla put the Flames up 1-0 at 8:09 of the first. Saprykin's rebound goal from the low slot made it 2-0 at 11:52 of the second period. After Johnson's power-play goal got Tampa Bay to 2-1 at 17:32, Saprykin got the goal back from in-close just 26 seconds before the second intermission. Lecavalier, who broke his nose in Friday's game, got the Lightning within 3-2 at 7:31 of the third. After Savard's goal, the Lightning pulled goalie Kevin Weekes during a power play that saw Modin make it 4-3 with 3:59 left. Game notesCalgary D Phil Housley left in the second period with a bruised right foot. A team spokesman said X-rays were negative and Housley might return for Monday's game at Buffalo. ... The Flames sent G Martin Brochu to Saint John of the AHL. G Fred Brathwaite, slowed by a groin injury the previous two games, served as the backup. ... Tampa Bay D Pavel Kubina (concussion) was activated from injured reserve after missing two games. D Bryan Muir was sent to Detroit of the IHL. ... It was Calgary's third road game in four days. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Calgary Clubhouse Tampa Bay Clubhouse RECAPS Philadelphia 4 Ottawa 3
Calgary 4
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