With the sun setting on the 2022-23 season for
the Sharks, they rolled into Calgary in the wake of the Flames own reality that
they would not be playing for a Stanley Cup themselves. The Sharks have been
auditioning their prospects for the past two weeks, while Calgary made the
transition to evaluation mode on Monday after they were eliminated from playoff
contention. The would be playoff contender used a Nikita Zadorov hat trick to
knock off the Sharks 3-1.
San Jose held a lead for more than half the
contest, but the story of the season reached out to bite San Jose. Defensive
lapses and a lack of any bite in the offensive zone cost the Sharks.
It was the season finale for Calgary, and they sent their fans home with more
"what ifs" then when the night started.
Noah Gregor staked the Sharks
to a 1-0 lead at 10:26 with his 9th goal of the season. The forward collected a
lead pass from Radim Simek at center ice before cutting across defenseman
Michael Stone and racing around him on the left side. Gregor released a shot on
Flames prospect goaltender Dustin Wolf that was defended, but the Shark sent a
put back chance 5-hole for the goal.
Nikita Zadorov tied the game
13:36 into the 2nd period on a tap in from the left side. The Flames worked the
puck out of the right corner before Andrew Mangiapane slid it over to the left
side from the slot. Zadorov didn't waste any time, putting it past Kaapo
Kahkonen for his 12th goal of the season.
The Flames grabbed a 2-1 lead 4:01 into the 3rd
period on a Zadorov shot from the blueline that weaved through traffic out in
front of Kahkonen.
The Sharks pulled Kahkonen with 2:30 to play, which
setup the hat trick for Zadorov, who sent a shot the length of the ice for his
14th of the season to seal the game.
Game Notes: * A bit of the
Flames future was on display, as prospect goaltender Dustin Wolf and right wing
Matt Coronato made their NHL debuts. Wolf was born in Gilroy, and spent parts
of two season playing for the Flames minor affiliate in Stockton. Before that
he played locally in the Golden State Elite youth program.
*
Goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen set a career high in saves with 46.
*
Referee Chris Rooney sustained a left arm injury midway through the game when a
puck off the stick of Henry Thrun hit him. Wes McCauley was forced to officiate
without his partner for about 8 minutes, while Rooney was tended to by the
medical staff. .
* Jacob Peterson finished with a -3 on the night.
Five other Sharks finished with -2 nights.
* Every FLames skater had
at least 1 shot on goal in the game. Tyler Toffoli led the Flames with 7 of
Calgary's 49 shots.
