The Flames won 6-3 before 19,286, but the game didn't get ugly until the closing minutes.

The Blue Jackets were trailing 4-3 in the third period, but Iginla's goal with 7:14 remaining and Kiprusoff's catch of a Raffi Torres shot 30 seconds later ended any thought of a rally. The Flames added a goal by Fredrik Sjostrom with 4:05 to play to cap the scoring.

Rick Nash, Derick Brassard and Jake Voracek scored for the Blue Jackets, who lost for the sixth time in their past seven games at Calgary.

All three of the Blue Jackets goals were scored on special teams: a 5-on-3 short-handed goal by Nash, a 5-on-3 goal by Brassard and a 5-on-4 goal by Voracek.

It was not a good night for Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason, who stopped only 16 of 22 shots (.727).

Less than four minutes into the game, the Flames took a 2-0 lead on goals by Daymond Langkow (2:42) and Curtis Glencross (3:57).

Defenseman Marc Methot was called for tripping 11 seconds later, and Fedor Tyutin went off for high-sticking at 4:45 to give the Flames, who have the No. 2 power-play unit in the NHL, two extra skaters for 1 minutes, 23 seconds.

It was under these circumstances that the Blue Jackets salvaged the game -- to that point.

Mathieu Roy, defending the 5-on-3 with Nash and Sammy Pahlsson, deflected a cross-slot pass from Craig Conroy, and Nash anticipated Pahlsson's soft clearing pass to perfection, racing down the ice and beating Calgary's Dion Phaneuf to the puck as they entered the Flames' zone.

Nash went wide of Kiprusoff and lifted the puck over his right pad to make it 2-1.

Even when the Flames pushed the lead to 3-1 on defenseman Jay Bouwmeester's goal with 8:36 left in the first, the Blue Jackets didn't seem out of it.

The Flames' Robyn Regehr opened the second in the penalty box for a holding-the-stick penalty at the end of the first period. The Jackets went up two skaters only 25 seconds in when Nash was hooked by Daymond Langkow.

At 0:52 of the second, Brassard scored over Kiprusoff's left pad from the top of the circles to make it 3-2. At 1:40, Voracek scored from low in the left circle off a feed from Brassard to make it 3-3.

The Flames slowly wrested the momentum away from the Blue Jackets. And with 6:16 left in the second, Calgary had the lead back, too.

Phaneuf carried the puck from behind his net into the Blue Jackets zone, with Jackets agitator Derek Dorsett hounding him all the way.

As Phaneuf crossed the blue line, he let loose a floating shot toward Mason, who didn't appear entirely ready. The puck cleared between Mason's glove and his right pad, putting the Flames up 4-3.

aportzline@dispatch.com