Flames at Sharks
Two Pacific Division rivals veering off in opposite directions will collide when the surging San Jose Sharks host the skidding Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon. San Jose is riding a six-game winning streak and will try to complete a season sweep of the fading Flames, who have dropped four in a row to tumble out of playoff contention.
The Sharks solidified their hold on second place in the Pacific by knocking off division-leading Vegas 2-1 in overtime on Thursday night. “We’re just trying to get our game to where it needs to be,” said Logan Couture, who scored the decisive goal. “When you have this many games left in the season, you’re trying to play your best hockey going into the playoffs." San Jose has won four in a row in the series, including a 7-4 victory in Calgary on March 16 that kicked off the Flames' current four-game slide. Injury-riddled Calgary was blanked for the second time during the skid in Wednesday's 4-0 home loss to Anaheim and is eight points out of the second wild-card slot with seven games remaining.
TV: 4 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Calgary), NBCS California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE FLAMES (35-30-10): Calgary absorbed a huge blow when the Calgary Sun reported Friday that No. 1 center Sean Monahan is done for the season and will have to undergo surgery. Monahan leads the team with 31 goals, matching his career high. “I don’t know how much longer Sean Monahan can play,” coach Glen Gulutzan said after Friday's practice. “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."
ABOUT THE SHARKS (42-23-9): Couture has scored in three consecutive games to push his season total to 31 -- one shy of his career high established in 2010-11. Defenseman Brent Burns finally put an end to a 15-game goal drought by netting his 11th while pouring 10 shots on goal and blocking three shots against Vegas. “We concentrate on the (defensive) side most of the time, play a structured game,” Burns said. “That is our game. I don’t think high scoring is really what we’re aiming to do. It just happens off of good structure.”
OVERTIME
1. The Sharks have not allowed a power-play goal in 10 straight home games.
2. F Kris Versteeg is also done for the season for Calgary, which is 1-for-35 with the man advantage in the past dozen games.
3. San Jose is 20-4-3 against the Pacific Division this season.