Calgary teammate Martin Gelinas, who a Cup while playing alongside legendary captain Mark
Messier on those Edmonton teams called Iginla "he's the best leader I've ever played with."
While Messier often made his teammates play up to
his standards through intimidation, Iginla leads more
by example.
"We all want to hold each other accountable," Iginla
says, citing cohesion in the locker room as a key part
of the Flames' success this spring. "It's not just me holding people accountable because
I'm captain. Everyone has the same attitude. We want
to get better together and so we hold each other
accountable. We've been successful this year because
we've played together."
Together, the Flames have defeated three division
champions (Vancouver, Detroit, and San Jose) to
advance to the Stanley Cup Finals where they won Game
1 at Tampa Bay.
And while the modest Iginla would try to convince you
otherwise, his shorthanded goal to give Calgary a 2-0
lead was the game's pivotal moment in the Finals
opener.
The goal helped assure Calgary would leave Florida
with a split. At the time, a Tampa Bay power-play goal
could have changed the complexion of the game
entirely. Instead, Iginla took it upon himself to
change the game's momentum, putting his own rebound
past Nikolai Khabibulin after being stopped on a
breakaway. It was a moment that swung the game.
With the air sucked out of the St. Pete Times Forum,
Stephane Yelle scored another Calgary goal less than
two minutes later to break the game open. But it was
Iginla's end-to-end rush that will be remembered.
Iginla has put his stamp on most every aspect of
Calgary's postseason run. In addition the shorthanded
goal he scored in Game 1, Iginla has played on the
power play, killed penalties and even dropped the
gloves a couple of times during the playoffs.
|
|
Jarome Iginla has put his stamp on most every aspect of Calgary's postseason run.
|
"He's old-school," Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said.
Iginla's stardom should be old hat. He's lead the NHL
in goals scored in two out of the last three seasons.
Still, it's taken the glare of the Stanley Cup Finals
for Iginla to gain widespread recognition.
Iginla's throwback combination of skill of toughness
is the primary reason the Flames are just three games
away from the Stanley Cup.
He realizes it could be a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity.
"This is the time of my life," he said. "But we know
it's going to get tougher. Every game in the series as
it goes on is more important."
As the games get tougher, so too does stopping Iginla.
Finding a way to stay off the Iginla bandwagon gets
tougher with each progressive game, too.
Unless, of course, you happen to live in Tampa.
