Kip, Kip, Hooray!

Flames rally in third to beat Pens on night Kiprusoff's number retired

By Ty Pilson

@typilson CalgaryFlames.com

March 03, 2024

The great Miikka Kiprusoff, on a night he was honoured in a pregame ceremony and saw his jersey retired and hauled into the rafters of the Scotiabank Saddledome, cracked a wide grin and joined into the raucous applause along with the rest of the C of Red.

Just hours earlier, they were standing on their feet for him, showing their admiration and love with cheers and many longrunning ovations.

But now, sitting in the Flames owners' suite, the legend had just watched Yegor Sharangovich score with 50 seconds left in the third period - his second goal of the game - to cap a three-goal rally in the final stanza, as Calgary beat Sidney Crosby and the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 Saturday night for their fifth straight victory.

In a neat little coincidence, you could look at the score as 3-4 - Kipper's famous number.

Or, as Derek Wills - the radio voice of the Flames pointed out on Twitter: Sharangovich is No. 17 and he scored twice. If you mutliply that jersey number by two you get .... drum roll ... 34.

Check out all the videos and pictures from Kipper's big night by clicking here

"Nine years went by too fast"

Sights and sounds from Kipper's night at the 'Dome

Nazem Kadri - with a nominee for Flames Goal Of The Year - and Blake Coleman scored just 32 seconds apart earlier in the stanza as the Flames picked up another massive two points in their march towards a postseason berth.

Jacob Markstrom stood tall, making 27 saves.

On a night when shots were hard to find for the homeside - 21 blocks by the Pens and more deflections than you can count - the capacity crowd who came early for the Kiprusoff ceremony certainly got their money's worth with the edge-of-your-seat finish.

The Pens outshot the Flames 14-3 in the opening frame - the last two shots beating Markstrom to give the visitors a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.

Jonathan Gruden scored his first NHL goal at 16:42 after a turnover in the neutral zone, skating in and firing the puck from an incredibly tight angle that somehow snuck between Markstrom and the post.

The second tally came on the powerplay with time winding down, Lars Eller batting a puck out of the air as he stood beside the net, doubling the lead with 34 ticks to go.

Sharangovich would get the Flames on the board when he chased a loose puck and it poked it around Kris Letang, before the man they call Sharky circled in for the kill and snapped one five-hole past Tristan Jarry.

Yegor goes five-hole with authority to get the Flames on the board

Heading into the third period, the shot clock read 24-10 for Pittsburgh as the Flames looked for a spark.

And boy did they get it from Kadri. His rush was spectacular - see for yourself below.

Kadri goes end-to-end with sublime display of skill

MIkael Backlund's hard work led to Coleman's tally, the captain winning the battle and getting the puck to Andrew Mangiapane, who fed No. 20 who was all alone in the slot and he snapped it under Jarry's blocker for his 25th of the campaign.

Coleman cashes in from the slot

Backlund - who was named the game's third star - finished with a pair of helpers, also setting up the game-winner from Sharangovich, which went high gloveside to end things in dramatic fashion.

Sharangovich notches the game-winner late in the third period