Iginla joins elite company

Gretzky, Sittler, Jagr, Esposito, Hull, Dionne, Bossy, Gartner, Kurri.

And now, Jarome Iginla.

The Calgary Flames captain joined some elite company Sunday as he notched his 30th goal of the year to mark the 10th consecutive season that he has reached that mark. In doing so, he becomes just the 10th player in NHL history to score 30 goals in 10 or more successive seasons.

Iginla put this one in the books with an exclamation mark. Afer being hauled down on a breakaway Iginla beat Predator goalie Pekka Rinne with a deke, tying the game 2-2, early in the second period.

"It's something, when I started and was just trying to make it, that I never thought about," said Iginla, 33, and still going strong.

JAROME IGINLA RIGHT WING - CGY 2010-11 GP: 68 | GOALS: 30 | ASST: 36 | PTS: 66 SOG: 234| +/-: -4 Jarome Iginla Highlights

"I have been extremely, extremely blessed over the years," added Iginla. "I've had some great passers to play with."

Among them his current wingman, Alex Tanguay.

"His physical ability is special," said Tanguay. "He's just a great physical athlete."

Tanguay noted that Iginla, for much of the last 10 seasons, has faced top defenders but hasn't changed his game from the power forward mode that got him to the National Hockey League. He plays a rugged game and keeps on scoring.

"It has been a pleasure to watch," said Tanguay.

Iginla hits the 30-goal mark in Game 68. Considering he had just two goals in the first 15 games of the season, hitting 30 is, indeed, big news. It means he scored 28 times in the remaining 53 games. Had he not had a slow start, we might be watching him chase the 50-goal plateau.

"Yeah, there have been ups and downs," said Iginla, referring to streaks and slumps (mostly min-slumps) over his career.

With the goal Sunday against Nashville, Iginla has seven goals in his last 10 games -- essentially a 56-goal pace.