Flames clinch playoff berth with rout of Sharks
CALGARY, Alberta -- The Calgary Flames scored three goals in the second period en route to clinching their first playoff berth in three seasons with a 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday night.
After Johnny Gaudreau opened the scoring in the first period, Sean Monahan, Matt Stajan and Alex Chiasson added goals in the second to send the Flames (44-30-4) on their way.
Sam Bennett added an empty-net goal, while goalie Brian Elliott made 36 saves for the Flames, who moved to within one point of the Sharks for third place in the Pacific Division.
Bennett and Chiasson finished with a goal and an assist each, while Kris Versteeg and T.J. Brodie each had two assists.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Melker Karlsson scored for the Sharks (43-28-7), who have just one win in their past nine games after going 7-2-0 in the previous nine.
Martin Jones stopped 18 of 22 shots he faced through two periods of play before being replaced by Aaron Dell, who made 12 saves in the final frame.
Karlsson pulled San Jose to within two goals at 13:06 of the third when he redirected a pass from Joe Pavelski past Elliott, who made a nice glove save 20 seconds later to deny Kevin Labanc.
The Sharks carried the majority of the play in the early going of the first period, but weren't able to get any pucks past Elliott.
Gaudreau put the Flames up 1-0 at 12:26 when he tipped a pass from Sam Bennett past Jones. Gaudreau skated into the San Jose zone before dropping a nifty back pass to Bennett and driving straight to the net for an easy tap-in goal.
Monahan scored a power-play goal at 3:39 of the second to extend Calgary's lead before Vlasic snapped a shot from the slot past Elliott at 8:25.
Stajan swatted a rebound past Jones at 12:38 before Chiasson put the Flames up 4-1 at 17:09. Chiasson took a pass from Kris Versteeg and drove to the net before backhanding a point-blank shot over Jones' shoulder and into the top corner.
NOTES: Sharks C Logan Couture missed his third straight game with a facial injury. He was struck in the mouth by a puck last Saturday during a 7-2 loss in Nashville to the Predators and required major dental work. ... The Sharks also scratched RW Joonas Donskoi, RW Joel Ward and D Dylan DeMelo. ... Calgary's healthy scratches were C Curtis Lazar, C Freddie Hamilton, D Dennis Wideman and D Rasmus Andersson. ... Flames LW Gaudreau has three goals and eight assists during his seven-game point streak, while C Sean Monahan scored three times while adding five helpers in his past four contests. ... The Sharks last won in regulation on March 14 when they beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 in San Jose.