CALGARY, Alberta - Maybe Nikolai Khabibulin could sense it from the start. Give up one goal, make a single mistake and it might cost the Tampa Bay Lightning not only the game but the Stanley Cup.

He didn't. On this night, the biggest in the Lightning's 12-year history and his own career, Khabibulin lived up to his nickname: the Bulin Wall.

Khabibulin turned aside 29 shots, and Brad Richards scored on a two-man advantage in the opening minutes, giving the Lightning a 1-0 victory Monday over the Calgary Flames that evened the Stanley Cup final at two games apiece.

Khabibulin made it look easy, but it certainly wasn't in yet another intense, hit-'til-it-hurts game in a series that has featured nothing but such games so far. Game 5 is Thursday night in Tampa following the series' only two-day break.

"He was a wall back there," Richards said. "It was great to see both goalies play the way they are. It's a lot of fun. When you get a chance, you really have to bear down."

Of course, opposing goalie Miikka Kiprusoff forced him to be perfect, turning aside everything but Richards' one-timer during a five-on-three that developed not even two minutes into the game.

"He was the best player out there," Richards said of Khabibulin, who tied Kiprusoff with his fifth shutout this spring. "He made save after save. He didn't make it look hard and he was always in the right place."

Remarkably, the Lightning scored only one goal in their two games in Calgary, yet managed a split by taking what essentially was a must-win Game 4. Only the Maple Leafs in 1942 have overcome a 3-1 deficit in the final to win the Stanley Cup.

That's one reason why Flames star Jarome Iginla was visibly frustrated at giving away the game that could have all but delivered the Cup to Calgary.

"This is a chance to go up 3-1 because you look at them, were they really that good?" Iginla said. "We outshot them (29-24), they had way more power plays than we did (5-2). So it's a tough one to take, when we know if we could have been a little bit better and found ways to score a couple of goals."

Khabibulin wouldn't let them, even though the Lightning were without two injured regulars, forward Ruslan Fedotenko and defenseman Pavel Kubina.

"We found a way to get it done, and that's the most important thing," coach John Tortorella said. "Ugly as hell, but we found a way."

Just as Khabibulin and Richards have done repeatedly in the postseason. Khabibulin is 6-0 with two shutouts after a loss, with Richards scoring the game-winning goal in four of those bounce-back wins. Richards has a record seven game-winners, breaking the postseason record of six he previously shared with Joe Sakic (1996) and Joe Nieuwendyk (1999).

"I think it was a good team effort. I tried to do what I can," Khabibulin said.

Richards agreed the Lightning were almost desperate to score on the pivotal five-on-thre that followed penalties on Chris Clark and Mike Commodore. The Lightning didn't get a single shot on a power play in the opening minute of their 3-0 loss in Game 3, giving the Flames a big momentum lift.

"If they kill that off, it may have been the game," Richards said. "There really was some (desperation) there."

The Lightning played almost Calgary-like once they got the lead, working just as hard to prevent a goal as they did to try to score another.

"It's (score) the first goal and then defend it, right?" Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said. "It's the same thing we do."

If trying to get the puck past Khabibulin wasn't difficult enough, the Flames were at a big disadvantage in the final 4:13 after Ville Nieminen drew a five-minute major penalty for ramming Vincent Lecavalier head-first into the boards. Lecavalier did not return.

"Vinny was in a bad situation, with his back turned and a couple of feet from the boards," teammate Brad Lukowich said. "Now he's got a big gash on his head. There's no need for that kind of stuff."

Now the question is whether Calgary can maintain its on-the-edge physical play without putting itself at a disadvantage, as it did Monday.

"Being in the penalty box is not good for any team," Clark said. "The lack of discipline is sometimes the key to winning or losing a game."

Notes:

Calgary has started 2-2 in all four playoff series. ... The Lightning are 30-0-2 overall and 8-0 in the playoffs when Richard scores. ... The winning team has scored first in all four games. ... Calgary allowed a goal in the first period for only the second time in 12 games.