Sharks go for 7th in row vs. flickering Flames
The San Jose Sharks are surging toward a playoff spot with a division title still a possibility. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames' postseason chances are all but snuffed out amid a report that their top goal scorer is done for the season. Looking for its seventh straight win, San Jose goes for a season sweep of Calgary on Saturday afternoon. The Sharks extended their streak by topping the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in overtime on Friday night. Logan Couture ended it with his team-best 31st goal in the opening minute of the extra session. "It's a good measuring stick for us for where we're at as the season winds down," coach Peter DeBoer said. With eight games to play, San Jose (42-23-9) is seven points behind Pacific Division-leading Vegas. The Sharks and Golden Knights meet for the final time in the regular season on March 31 in Las Vegas. Even with Thursday's narrow win, San Jose has outscored its opponents 29-16 and hasn't allowed a power-play goal in five contests during the winning streak. "I've enjoyed watching the guys. They've been playing hard every night," said injured Sharks center Joe Thornton, who joined the team on the ice Friday for a photo shoot. San Jose caps a three-game homestand with a matinee before its final road trip of the season, which includes a matchup against the Western Conference-leading Nashville Predators before facing Vegas. The Sharks have taken all three meetings with the Flames, including a 3-2 shootout win on Dec. 28 at SAP Center. San Jose is looking for its fourth straight home win over Calgary. Couture has notched three goals and an assist in his last three games, while reigning Norris Trophy winner Brent Burns has collected a goal with three assists in his last two games. Burns is tied with Joe Pavelski for the team lead with 59 points. Martin Jones has allowed 13 goals while winning each of his last five starts. He is 3-1-0 with a 1.97 goals-against average at home against the Flames while with San Jose. Calgary-area native Aaron Dell stopped 32 shots in the Sharks' 3-2 win over the Flames on Dec. 14. Calgary (35-30-10) dropped its fourth in a row, falling to the Anaheim Ducks 4-0 on Wednesday. The Flames are eight points out of the second wild card spot with seven games remaining. While not mathematically eliminated, Calgary's slim hopes are pretty much shot -- especially if the report that center Sean Monahan is done for the season shakes out. "He's been playing through two significant injuries here. He's been gutting it out. He's been injected in two places for the last three weeks, just to get him through the games," Flames coach Glen Gulutzan explained on Friday. The Calgary Herald later reported that Monahan, who has 11 game-winning goals among his 31 markers this season, would miss the rest of season. Neither Gulutzan nor the newspaper indicated what the injury is to Monahan. Calgary's latest skid began March 16 with a 7-4 loss to the Sharks at Scotiabank Saddledome, when San Jose's Evander Kane recorded his first career hat trick as part of a four-goal game. The Flames have been outscored 20-6 during the losing streak and are near the bottom of the league with 2.7 goals per game. "It's business as usual here. We know its daunting and everything out there. There's a lot of professional guys in there," Gulutzan said. The Flames also managed just four goals during over the last three games in Silicon Valley. Johnny Gaudreau has two goals against the Sharks, while six others have one each against San Jose in 2017-18. Gaudreau leads the club with 59 assists and 82 points, both career highs. Calgary's Mike Smith is 1-5-0 with a 3.79 GAA after missing 14 games with a lower-body injury. Rookie David Rittich, though, has yielded just two goals while winning his last two starts on the road. |