Sharks at Flames
The Calgary Flames missed a chance to clinch a playoff spot last time out but continue their final stretch against Pacific Division rivals when they host the struggling San Jose Sharks on Friday. The Flames' 4-1 setback against Los Angeles on Wednesday was their third loss in five games and left them three points behind San Jose for third place in the Pacific.
“We weren’t clicking,” Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters after the loss to the Kings. “We didn’t have any jump. We didn’t play fast enough. We didn’t execute. We weren’t clean.” The Flames, who are one point ahead of Nashville for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference and 11 in front of ninth-place Los Angeles, will take on Pacific-leading Anaheim twice and meet the Sharks for the first of two encounters Friday. San Jose has dropped seven of its last eight games following a 3-2 setback at Edmonton on Thursday and will not have third-leading scorer Logan Couture (52 points) for the second straight game as he was hit in the mouth by a puck against the Predators on Saturday. The Sharks have managed just nine goals in the seven losses during their recent slide.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), Sportsnet West (Calgary)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (43-27-7): Captain Joe Pavelski snapped his seven-game goal-scoring drought Thursday, moving within one of reaching 30 for the fifth time in six seasons while taking over the team lead. Defenseman Brent Burns, one of the front-runners for the Norris Trophy, was kept off the scoresheet Thursday after notching three points in his previous three games and leads the team with 73. Patrick Marleau, who is third on the team with 26 goals, moved to center in Couture’s absence - primarily skating with Joel Ward and Joonas Donskoi on Thursday.
ABOUT THE FLAMES (43-30-4): Calgary’s top two scorers, Johnny Gaudreau (17 goals, 59 points) and Sean Monahan (26, 57), have been leading the way of late. Gaudreau is riding a six-game point streak (two goals, eight assists) and Monahan has collected seven points in his last three contests, but others will have to step up if the Flames are going to make a late move for a higher seed. Mikael Backlund has gone five games without a point, rookie Matthew Tkachuk is pointless in four and Michael Frolik has notched just one in his last six contests.
OVERTIME
1. Calgary G Brian Elliott took the loss on Wednesday but has posted a 9-2-0 record and .935 save percentage this month.
2. San Jose RW Jannik Hansen registered two points for the second straight game Thursday after posting just one in his first eight contests after being acquired from Vancouver.
3. The Flames won two of their previous three meetings with the Sharks this season, including 3-2 home triumph on Jan. 11.