Rangers Ready To Face Off Vs. Flames

NEW YORK (AP) -- A red-hot Jarome Iginla hasn't helped the Calgary Flames improve their overall fortunes. He's had more luck leading the Flames to victories in their recent matchups with the New York Rangers.

The Calgary captain will try to help his team to its fourth consecutive win over the Rangers on Monday night.

Iginla, who has scored at least 30 goals in each of the last nine seasons, didn't get off to a promising start to 2010-11, with two through his first 15 games.

He's broken out of that slump with six goals and two assists in the last four contests. After recording his first hat trick of the season in a 7-2 rout of Chicago on Friday night, he scored twice in the second period Sunday in Detroit to give his team a 3-1 lead.

The Flames (8-10-1) couldn't hold that advantage in the third, as they gave up the tying goal with 3.2 seconds left in regulation. Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom scored 1:38 into overtime to give his team a 5-4 victory.

"We got a point but we certainly should have had two tonight," said Calgary coach Brent Sutter, whose club has dropped eight of 10 following a 6-3-0 start.

They've gotten two points in each of their last three meetings with New York (11-9-1), thanks in part to Iginla's four goals in those contests. Iginla, who has 10 goals and four assists in his last 10 games against the Rangers, scored the go-ahead goal in last season's lone matchup, a 3-1 Flames home victory.

The Rangers avoided a third straight overall defeat Saturday night, when five different players found the net in a 5-2 victory at Minnesota.

New York coach John Tortorella, who had chewed out his team following a 5-1 defeat in Colorado the previous night, was much happier with his team's play against the Wild.

"We just wanted to get back to our structure and answer the right way," said Tortorella, who collected his 300th NHL win. "You'd like to think we're developing a little bit of mental toughness in trying to grind through and stop the bleeding after a game like (the loss to the Avalanche),"

Brandon Dubinsky was one Rangers player who got back on track, scoring for just the second time in eight games. He had 10 goals in his first 13 games of the season.

Putting more of a burden on Iginla, the Flames again won't have center Olli Jokinen on the ice. Jokinen is serving the last of a three-game suspension for cross-checking Phoenix's Wojtek Wolski around the head and neck Wednesday night.

This is the first visit to Madison Square Garden for the Flames since Dec. 7, 2008, when Miikka Kiprusoff made 31 saves in a 3-0 win for Calgary.

© 2010 by STATS LLC and Associated Press.