ESPN NHL

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- After every victory, a Calgary player is awarded with a green hardhat for his gritty, lunchpail effort that made the biggest difference for the Flames.

On Thursday night, the chief Flame proudly donned the protective headgear after scoring the winning goal and applying persistent offensive zone pressure by crashing into numerous Canucks in Calgary's 2-1 Game 5 victory over Vancouver that pushed the Flames one win away from the franchise's first playoff series victory since winning the 1989 Stanley Cup.

Calgary captain Jarome Iginla called his deflection that took a bounce off Canucks defenseman Mattias Ohlund's skate on the way to the net at 5:37 of the third period "a lucky play," but his club-best third playoff goal showed how Iginla is leading the Flames' efforts to make their own luck.

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