The Calgary Flames' third period tie-breaking goal against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night was an odd one.
Olli Jokinen drove in against the Wild defense, his shot blocked by Steve Kampfer, who lost his stick. Tom Gilbert of the Wild tried to clear the puck from the end boards, but it hit that aforementioned stick and went to Jarome Iginla. As the puck bounced, the Flames captain tried to fire a shot on net … failing epically, as he fell to the ice during his awkward one-timer. But since he's Jarome Iginla, even the worst shot can end up being the best pass:
Curtis Glencross' 25th of the season, from Iginla, gave the Flames a 3-2 lead, which became 4-2 just over four minutes later as Jokinen scored. Calgary won the game, 4-3.
So what did Iggy think of his pass? From the Calgary Herald:
"That was nice, eh?" deadpanned Iginla. "I was about to shoot, then, at the last second, I saw him, so I fanned on it."
Then the Flames captain cracked up. "That was a pretty good break," said Iginla. "I was trying to shoot that, fell on my face, and it went right over to him, right in his wheelhouse. I can't claim I meant to do that at all."
When is an NHL player just going to claim a fortunate blooper was a set play? Because if it's Iginla, we're all liable to buy it.