Iginla’s Hat Trick Redeems Calgary Flames
November 22, 2009 by Jeanne Dupuis
Filed under Calgary Flames
After their embarrassing 7-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks the other night, the Calgary Flames had a lot of ground to cover. I’m sure the fact that the media was all over the alleged screaming match between coach, Brent Sutter, and unpredictable defenceman, Dion Phaneuf, didn’t help the team’s focus. I don’t know if I like all of Sutter’s tactics but when you see a game like the one yesterday afternoon, it’s hard to argue.
image: TSN
The Flames would have to be heartless to not have been affected by that awful loss and their pattern in recent seasons has been to fall apart after performing so badly. I think that Sutter’s best contribution so far has been helping the team become more resilient. They are bouncing back more and more and it’s great to see.
Captain Jarome Iginla delivered right when his team needed him. He recorded his ninth hat trick in the 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings who have been crazy hot so far this season. Iggy scored a goal in each period, with the first coming just 13 seconds after the opening faceoff.
It looked like everything might come undone in the third when he was called for tripping but the team hung on. “I was hoping and praying,” said Iginla who, in talking about the penalty killers, added: “They worked hard all night and were so determined.”
“We were assertive, we played an intelligent game, and we were smart,” said coach Sutter. “Iginla played a whale of a game, just not the fact that he scored. He was just rock solid in a lot of areas.”
