If the Flames listened to the pundits, Jarome Iginla would have scored his 500th goal elsewhere. Instead, they kept him and saw him score a milestone goal.
 For 15 seasons, Jarome Iginla has been the face of the Calgary Flames.
While some pundits and bloggers suggest Iginla be traded to a contender for a better chance at hoisting the Stanley Cup late in his career (see: Bourque, Ray), the classy left wing continues to be a bright spot on a team that has done little to warm the Alberta winters in recent seasons.
On Saturday, Iginla scored the 500th goal of his stellar career, with a double-carom tally that went off the skate of a defenseman, and off the skate of Wild center Mikko Koivu, before finding the back of the net.
It took Iginla a few seconds to know the goal was his.
“(Curtis Glencross) was the one who told me,” he said while flashing his trademark smile. “I was trying just to center it for (Jay Bouwmeester) and Glennie going to the net, and Glennie told me I got it. I didn’t know. I thought one of them maybe got it. I’ll take it.”
Iginla is the 42nd player to hit the milestone and 15th to do it while playing for just one franchise.
“It’s almost like it was meant to be; meant to be back at the Saddledome where he’s been his whole career with the Calgary Flames, in front of his home fans, family,” said injured forward Brendan Morrison, who recently netted his 200th career goal. “We win the game and it’s the game-winner. It doesn’t get any better.”
Earlier in the period, a power-play slapshot by No. 12 clanged off a pipe.
That would have been more typical of a goal seen by a player who has twice tallied 50 goals, been a 40-goal scorer four times and has scored at least 30 goals in 10 straight seasons. He’s proven to be a goal scorer no matter whom he has been paired with, be it Alex Tanguay, Mike Cammalleri, Craig Conroy or Daymond Langkow, to name a few.
“I feel like I’m a little part of history,” said Conroy, who assisted on 85 Iginla goals, and is now a special assistant to general manager Jay Feaster. “We had three years where we were really rolling together. He won the Rocket Richard twice when we played together. For me, it was a huge boost to my career. I couldn’t have gotten in any better situation than playing with Jarome to kind of go from being a third-line checker to playing on the top line. It was always fun.”
The Flames won the game 3-1, something Calgary needed after a 2-5 road trip ended with a 9-0 thud two nights earlier in Boston.
True to his team-first, humble attitude, Iginla was almost happier his team got the win and glad the milestone chase was over.
“It’s special to get, but we need to win some games and stuff. I didn’t want it to be a distraction or keep thinking about it,” he said. “It’s nice to get it, but also not to be at 499 and it keep being talked about.”
Lance Bouma scored his first career tally to open the scoring. It was his first game with the parent club this season.
“Every player remembers their first goal,” said Iginla, whose first-goal was in Vancouver against Kirk McLean. “I got a pass from Corey Millen. It was a two-one-one and I was just driving to the far post and he gave me a tap in. … You do want to score your first goal pretty badly and experience that feeling. You don’t know when it’s going to come so that was pretty cool.”
“You see a guy that scored his 500th goal and a guy who scored his first NHL goal. That’s got a neat story to it,” coach Brent Sutter said. “It’s a tremendous accomplishment.”
Notes
Iginla has scored six goals during the Flames' current six-game home winning streak. They're 8-0-1 at home since losing to Ottawa on Nov. 15. … Flames LW Rene Bourque was suspended five games for an elbow on Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom. It is Bourque’s second suspension of the season. He missed two games last month after a hit on Chicago’s Brent Seabrook. … D Mark Giordano took part in his first practice Monday since tearing a hamstring Nov. 29, and said he felt almost normal. … Calgary acquired C Blair Jones from Tampa Bay for D Brendan Mikkelson. Jones had two goals and two assists in 22 games this season with the Lightning. … Colorado had its four-game winning streak end Saturday with a 4-0 loss in St. Louis.… Avalanche D Ryan Wilson has been a healthy scratch in two games since being cleared to return from a concussion. He missed 13 games. … With D Shane O'Brien unavailable for at least the next two games with a knee injury suffered Saturday, Wilson should see some ice time beginning Tuesday at home against Nashville. … Avs D Erik Johnson was also injured Saturday (hand) and is day-to-day. … Avalanche GM Greg Sherman recently spoke to The Denver Post about the team staying the course. “I believe in our players. I believe in what we have," Sherman said. … Oilers C Shawn Horcoff has one goal and one assist in his past 14 games, going minus-11 in that stretch. … Edmonton recalled forwards Magnus Paajarvi and Ryan O'Marra from AHL Oklahoma City Monday. … Oilers C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is expected to miss a month with a left shoulder injury. … RW Jordan Eberle injured his knee Saturday in Dallas and is doubtful for the Oilers game Wednesday. … Edmonton D Tom Gilbert, who's missed four games with a right knee injury after a hit from behind by Chicago’s Daniel Carcillo, still isn't practicing and is likely out until February. … D Corey Potter signed a two-year extension with the Oilers. … The Wild placed RW Pierre-Marc Bouchard on injured reserve Tuesday due to concussion-like symptoms. … Minnesota C Matt Cullen played his 1,000th career game Tuesday. “It’s kind of funny to think that I’m that old already,” the 35-year-old joked Monday. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and certainly more than I ever could have dreamt of and to be able to do it at home is something special.” … The Wild entered Tuesday’s 5-4 win over San Jose having lost 11 of 12 games, in the process falling from the top of the Western Conference to barely hanging onto a playoff spot. … Entering that game Minnesota ranked 29th in goals per game (2.19). Leading scorer, Dany Heatley, has just 13 goals. … Vancouver LW Andrew Ebbett suffered a broken collarbone Saturday and could be out for the season. … Mike Duco, who accumulated more than 100 penalty minutes in each of his last three seasons in the minors, was called up to replace Ebbett. He made his debut Monday. … D Sami Salo missed Monday’s game with head and shoulder injuries after being clipped by Boston’s Brad Marchand Saturday. Marchand was suspended five games for the illegal hit. “Marchand – and this is just my feeling – but someday he’s going to get it. Someday, someone’s going to say ‘enough is enough’ and they’re going to hurt the kid because he plays to hurt players. And if the league doesn’t care, somebody else will,” said Canucks coach Alain Vigneault. Vancouver and Boston do not play again this season.
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