Kristian Huselius scored with 52.5 seconds remaining, as the Calgary Flames trimmed the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in front of 19,289 at the Pengrowth Saddledome on Tuesday night.
When Daymond Langkow's shot caromed off the stick of Wild defenceman Brent Burns, Huselius corralled it and wristed a shot by Niklas Backstrom for the winning goal, his eighth of the season.
Kristian Huselius scored the winner on Niklas Backstrom on Tuesday.
(Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)
"We are getting back to better habits and competing harder," Flames captain Jarome Iginla said. "It feels good to get a win."
Huselius notched an assist on Dion Phaneuf's power-play goal late in the first period, and Iginla tallied the other goal on a strange shot as the Flames (7-8-3) halted a five-game losing skid.
"It is a bit of a jinx for us in this building," Wild forward Brian Rolston said.
Miikka Kiprusoff posted 26 saves, surrendering two goals to Mikko Koivu in less than seven minutes early in the third period.
Backstrom stopped 25 of 28 shots for the Wild (9-6-2), who have lost two straight games and seven of nine.
"We really did have the momentum there," Rolston said. "But Iginla's goal was a little unfortunate for us, for sure.
"We were still playing hard. But then, they get that third one."
Phaneuf opened the scoring 15:43 into the contest, pinching in from the point and one-timing Alex Tanguay's pass by Backstrom for his fourth.
But the Wild rallied behind Koivu, who flipped a centring pass from Mark Parrish past Kiprusoff to knot it 1-1 less than four minutes into the second period.
Koivu later redirected Petteri Nummelin's shot from the side boards for a power-play goal, his fifth at 9:52.
But Iginla tied it 2-2 on a fluke goal with 9:47 left, banking a slapshot off Nick Schultz and Burns and behind Backstrom for his 11th.
"First, the puck hits a couple players and goes in," Tanguay said. "And the last one, Kristian made a nice shot.
"But from the angle he was, that shot normally doesn't go in. I guess we were owed one tonight."
With files from the Canadian PressRelated
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