The Sharks resumed regular season play on
Thursday night following the 2-week Olympic break, hosting the Calgary Flame in
a divisional tilt at SAP Center. Entering play, San Jose has 26 games left to
climb back into a playoff spot. They started the day 5 points behind the
Seattle Kraken for the last spot in the Western Conference. The Flames scored 3
times in the 3rd period to beat the Sharks 4-1, hurting the Sharks goal of
climbing back into the playoff race.
With their season already over,
the Flames were playing for scouting purposes as they will likely be sellers at
the NHL trade deadline. The team that sat 11 points out of a playoff spot
handed it to the Sharks in a pivotal 3rd period and in the season series.
Calgary went 3-1 against San Jose this season.
Gilroy native
Dustin Wolf made 34 saves to lead the Flames. Nazem Kadri potted a pir of goals
to beat San Jose.
Tyler Toffoli staked the Sharks to a 1-0 lead 77
seconds into the 2nd period. Mario Ferraro fired a shot to the slot in front of
the net from the left point, allowing Toffoli to tip it past Dustin Wolf for
this 16th goal of the season.
Kadri potted his 11th of the season with
5 minutes remaining in the period. The Sharks failed to clear their zone,
allowing Mackenzie Weegar to step in front of a long attempt. Joel Farabee
controlled it along the right wing boards when he spotted Kadri driving down
the slot. Farabee sent to the puck to the spot at the top of the circles, then
Kadri whipped a shot that beat Yaroslav Askarov high to the blocker side.
The Flames took a penalty for too many men with 2:37
left in the period, but the Sharks couldn't convert. Wolf denied three good
Sharks chances to keep the game knotted after 40 minutes.
The 3rd
period belonged to the Flames as they would pot a pair of goals to take a
2-goal lead.
Connor Zary put the Flames on top 5:22 into the 3rd
period with a shot that was almost identical to Kadri's goal. Zary collected a
Mikael Backlund feed and whipped a shot from between the circles that beat
Askarov by placing it in the upper right corner.
Kadri made it 3-1
with 8:04 left. Timothy Liljegren chased down a puck as it headed for the
Sharks en boards, but after pivoting 180 degrees to look up ice, his clearing
chance hit Zary 4 feet away. The puck landed right on Kadri's stick. The Flames
forward
Backlund added an empty net goal after San Jose pulled Askarov
to cap the game's scoring.
Game Notes: * The Sharks
recognized their four Olympians before the start of the game.
* New
sharks Kiefer Sherwood shared the team lead in shots with Macklin Celebrini,.
Both linemates recorded 5 shots a piece. Celebrini was held without a point for
the 3rd tie against the Flames this season. San Jose lost all 3 of those games.
* Nazem Kadri has the 2nd most points against the Sharks since 2020.
His 34 points is second only to Nathan Mackinnon.
* Yaroslav Askarov
made 25 saves, but the first three goals were all saveable chances. The Flames
figured out that shooting high was Askarov's Achilles Heel.
* San Jose
out-shot the Flames 35-29. Kadri and Mikael Backlund each had 5 shots each.
