It was a scene in reverse from Sunday night. Visiting player returns home scores 3 goals and a smattering of hats/caps hit the ice.

  The Flames liked it much better on Monday since it was winger Rene Bourque returning to where he grew up scoring the 3 goals pacing the Flames to a 4-1 victory.

  On Sunday in the Saddledome, Mason Raymond, who grew up in Cochrane, had the “hat trick” in a 5-1 Vancouver success over the Flames.

  That outcome set in motion a 20-hour period where the Flames were challenged by coach Brent Sutter, admitted they were embarrassed by the Canucks, did some soul searching and emerged with an important win.

  Bourque, who now has 13 goals with 5 of them coming against the Oilers, got a new centreman for the game. Ollie Jokinen, benched for much of the last 2 periods on Sunday, was moved off the #1 line with Jarome Iginla.  He picked up a pair of assists. Daymond Langkow took Jokinen’s spot with Iginla with Curtis Glencross getting the LW assigned.  They had chances but didn’t figure in the scoring other than Langkow, who made a great play setting up Bourgue’s SHG.

  Like Raymond did a night earlier, Bourque had a “natural” hat trick.  He scored even strength late in the first period to tie the game at 1-1. Then he triggered the only goal in the 2nd period on a PP before sealing the game with a SHG at 5:37 mark on the  3rd stanza. In 4 games against the Oilers this season Bourque had 10 points and that includes one of the games where he was held off the scoresheer.

 Miikka Kiprusoff, who had a rough game on Sunday allowing 4 goals in the first period, bounced back with another superb outting.  In the first period, the Flames were outshot 16-5 with Kiprusoff stopping the Oilers from scoring more than once.

  An interesting sidelight was Dustin Boyd engaging in his first NHL fight. That coming right off the centre ice face-off following the Oilers getting the 1-0 lead.  He took on another greenhorn to the fighting field, Andrew Cogliano.  Coach Sutter felt Boyd stepping up was a factor in the Flame rally. 

 Sutter was pleased with the team’s rebound but needs to see it much more often to determine that their December demise has been corrected.

  They seek another victorious performance Wednesday against Los Angeles.

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