CALGARY, Alberta -- Jarome Iginla has had a lot of great games in Calgary, but Wednesday's performance against his former team will go down as one he'll never forget.

Iginla's "Gordie Howe hat trick" -- a goal, assist and a fight -- led the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

"I don't know how many more games I'll play here, but this will be one that I will remember," said Iginla, whom the Kings acquired at the NHL trade deadline from the Colorado Avalanche.

Iginla, who scored 525 goals and added 570 assists in 1,219 games with the Flames from 1996 to 2013, didn't actually score his goal that stood up as the winner with 45.8 seconds left in the second period.

"It was a nice bounce there on that goal," said Iginla, who drove hard to the net and tried to shovel the puck past goalie Brian Elliott before Mark Giordano inadvertently reached back and batted the puck into his own net. "For me, I thought it was closer to a playoff game. Those are fun to be a part of -- that intensity. The building was going tonight. Obviously, from our point of view, it went the right way."

Anze Kopitar also had a goal and an assist for the Kings (36-33-7), who kept their slim playoff hopes alive heading into their final six games.

"Obviously we've got to be focused on our game and the way we've got to play and keep getting wins and then see what happens," said Kopitar, who referred to Iginla as a future Hall of Famer. "I'm sure he's had a couple of those games before in this building. He comes to the rink every day, gives it his all."

Ben Bishop made 25 saves for Los Angeles, while Trevor Lewis and Jeff Carter also scored.

Dougie Hamilton scored for the Flames (43-30-4), who could have clinched a playoff berth with a win. Calgary's next chance to clinch a spot will come on Friday when the Flames host the San Jose Sharks.

"We're still in there and we're still excited about the opportunity," Flames right winger Kris Versteeg said. "I don't think there's anything to be down about. That team is a heck of a team over there. It just wasn't our night, so we'll come back for the next one."

Making his third straight start in net for Calgary, Elliott finished with 29 saves.

With six games left, the Kings are 10 points behind the Nashville Predators in the race for the last Western Conference playoff spot.

The last time the teams met on March 19 at the Saddledome, Flames rookie left winger Matthew Tkachuk elbowed Kings defenseman Drew Doughty in the face near the end of the first period of Calgary's 5-2 win.

Although Tkachuk wasn't penalized on the play, he was subsequently suspended two games.

Just 25 seconds into the game, Tkachuk dropped the gloves to fight Jake Muzzin, who refused to oblige, resulting in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to the 19-year-old rookie.

"I know it was the first shift, but that whole first period was kind of a little bit different than what most periods are like," Tkachuk said. "That's just hockey. It's done with."

Hamilton opened the scoring at 3:04 of the first when he jammed a loose puck in the crease past Bishop. Hamilton's initial shot actually missed the net, but the puck hit Los Angeles defenseman Alex Martinez and bounced back into the crease.

Off the ensuing faceoff after Hamilton's goal, Brayden McNabb dropped the gloves for a spirited fight with Tkachuk, who seemed to draw the ire of Los Angeles players all game.

"He elbows Drew right in the face, so you can't expect us to not do anything about it," Kopitar said. "That happens pretty much all the time if somebody on your team gets hit like that."

The Kings pulled even at 12:04 when Lewis redirected defenseman Derek Forbort's point shot past Elliott and then took the lead for good on Iginla's goal.

Kopitar one-timed a pass from Jake Muzzin past Elliott at 6:09 of the third to make it 3-1 before Carter drove to the net and tipped a pass from Iginla past Elliott at 12:40 for another insurance marker.

NOTES: The Flames went with the same lineup they used during a 4-2 win at home over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, meaning that C Curtis Lazar, C Freddie Hamilton, D Dennis Wideman and D Rasmus Andersson sat out as healthy scratches. ... The Kings scratched C Nic Dowd, C Jordan Nolan, C Jonny Brodzinski and D Paul Ladue. ... Kings C Trevor Lewis played in his 500th NHL game and scored to reach the 10-goal mark for the first time in his career. ... C Jeff Carter, who leads the Kings with 32 goals, had gone eight games without finding the back of the net before scoring in the third period.