Donskoi's late goal lifts Sharks over Flames
CALGARY, Alberta -- Joonas Donskoi scored at 17:12 of the third period to lead the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.
Donskoi, who missed the past six games with a lower-body injury, drove hard to the net to poke a loose puck through Calgary goaltender Mike Smith's legs to give San Jose the victory. Donskoi added a first-period assist.
Chris Tierney and Timo Meier also had a goal and an assist for the Sharks (17-10-3), who have recorded points in four straight games (3-0-1).
Michael Frolik and Johnny Gaudreau also scored for the Flames (16-13-3), who had gone 2-0-2 in their previous four games.
San Jose's Aaron Dell stopped 32 shots, while Smith finished with 26 saves.
On his first shift of the game, Troy Brouwer had a great chance for the Flames, but his shot from the slot went just wide.
Joe Thornton found himself alone in front of the Calgary net a short time later, but he wasn't able to jam the puck past Smith.
Frolik opened the scoring at 4:42 of the first period when he intercepted Tim Heed's clearing attempt before wristing a shot through Dell's legs.
The Sharks tied things up with 3:53 to play before the first intermission on Meier's fourth goal of the year. Smith did a nice job to poke check the puck off the stick of Tierney, but it went right to Meier who quickly swatted a shot into the Calgary net.
The Flames had a two-man advantage for 37 seconds early in the middle frame, but weren't able to capitalize on the opportunity.
Frolik had another great chance at 6:30 of the second. After a failed wraparound attempt by Matthew Tkachuk, the puck lay in the crease for several seconds, but Frolik wasn't able to poke it past Dell.
Tierney gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead 10 minutes into the second when he slipped a shot from the slot through Smith's legs during a San Jose man advantage.
Calgary pulled back into a 2-2 tie when Gaudreau scored at 7:39 of the third. Gaudreau swatted a pass from Garnet Hathaway just under the arm of a diving Dell for his 13th goal of the season.
NOTES: Flames RW Jaromir Jagr missed his fifth straight game with a lower-body injury. ... Calgary's other scratches were C Freddie Hamilton and D Matt Bartkowski. ... Although the Sharks recalled C Danny O'Regan from the AHL's San Jose Barracuda on Tuesday, he was a healthy scratch along with D Paul Martin and D Joakim Ryan. ... C Ryan Carpenter, who was placed on waivers by the Sharks on Tuesday, was claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights the following morning.