5 THINGS - FLAMES @ SHARKS
Flames kick off four-game road swing in San Jose
Video: Brendan Parker previews tonight's game in San Jose
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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
Mr. 700 - Huberdeau
Projected Lineup
Say What - 'Be in a Playoff Spot at Christmas'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Elias Lindholm (25)
Goals - Nazem Kadri (11)
Sharks:
Points - Erik Karlsson (39)
Goals - Timo Meier (15)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 19.8% (25th) / PK - 81.2% (7th)
Sharks:
PP - 21.7% (19th) / PK - 84.2% (2nd)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.62% (3rd)
High-Danger Chances: 50.78% (15th)
Sharks:
Shot Attempts: 48.87% (24th)
High-Danger Chances: 55.65% (5th)
They've been right there.
But keep coming up just short.
The Flames are currently on a five-game losing streak, with four of the five decided by two goals or less.
Friday night was the latest setback with the Flames falling 5-2 to the St. Louis Blues at the Scotiabank Saddledome, but saw them trail just by one goal on two separate occasions before the Blues pulled ahead late in the third.
Connor Mackey scored both Flames tallies, while Jacob Markstrom got the start, stopping 17 shots.
"Honestly, the whole game was very sloppy from our side," Elias Lindholm said after the loss. "We left Marky out to dry out there. A lot of 2-on-1's, a lot of off odd man rushes.
"You are not going to win many games in this league playing like that."
The chances have been there during the stretch, and they've been heavily outshooting the opposition, but it's a matter of turning those shots into goals.
With 31 games under their belt, the Flames currently are on the outside looking in at a playoff spot and now embark on a four-game California road swing with a battle against the Sharks tonight in the first of back-to-back meetings in San Jose.
There's no denying how crucial these next few games will be.
"Divisional games, they are always hard fought, tight games," Mikael Backlund said. "We gotta go in with the mindset here that we need a really, really big road trip here. Set us up to be in a playoff spot before Christmas, that's our main goal going into this road trip.
"We know we can be better, we know we have to be better."
San Jose heads into the match-up after a 3-2 loss shootout loss to the Kings Saturday night in Los Angeles.
The loss snapped a two-game win streak but the Sharks have now picked up six out of a possible eight points in their last four games.
Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc scored in regulation for the Sharks, as James Reimer stood tall stopping 39 shots and was a huge reason why his club escaped with a point.
"I thought there were stretches we looked good and stretches where I thought we struggled. Didn't play with the tempo, the pace and competitiveness that we need to play with," Sharks head coach David Quinn said. "That's a good team over there. They are feeling good after that big win in Boston and have good players up and down their lineup. Obviously they posed a problem for us when we weren't on our game.
"We were pretty inconsistent. Probably a little fortunate to get away with a point tonight."
San Jose sits seventh in the Pacific, and have gone 3-4-3 in their last 10 games.
HUBERDEAU 700: Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau will skate in game number 700 tonight in San Jose. Huberdeau was drafted third overall in 2011 by the Florida Panthers and skated in a franchise leading 671 games with the Panthers. He also leads the Florida Panthers franchise in assists (415), points (613) and even strength goals (150). Since being acquired by Calgary, Huberdeau has five goals and 13 assists for 18 points so far this season.
COLTS CONNECTIONS:Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane and defenceman Rasmus Andersson along with Sharks winger Kevin Labanc were all teammates on the Barrie Colts from 2014-2016. The trio were in the top five of Colts scoring in both seasons, with Andersson leading all Colts defenders in scoring over the two-year span with at least 60 points in both seasons. Lebanc and Mangiapane would both break the 100-point plateau in the two campaigns and Mangiapane would be tied for second in goals (51) Kevin Lebanc led the OHL in assists (88) during the 2015/16 campaign.
DID YOU KNOW?Adam Ruzicka scored his first NHL goal on December 7th, 2021 at the SAP Center against the Sharks.
Flames - Dillon Dube
He's here! He's there!
You know the rest.
Dube has been rolling with four points in his last two games, all assists, and looks to have clicked right away with new linemates Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli against the Blues.
Sharks - Timo Meier
The 26-year-old continues his impressive play, coming off a two-point night against the Kings with a goal and an asssit. In his last three games, Meier has racked up five points (3G, 2A) and his 15 goals leads the club.
Mikael Backlund on getting through the rough stretch
"We know we can still do a really good thing here. But we got to pull it together here and be a lot better … We haven't given up here. We're chasing it for sure, we're behind in the standings we know we have to play better, win more games and we're going to do it."
