Chomp, Chomp!

SAN JOSE — These Flames have bite.

And they're off and running after a week-long break between games, after scoring a 3-1 win over the Sharks Saturday evening at SAP Center.

Jonathan Huberdeau notched a pair of goals, while Mikael Backlund's powerplay marker stood up as the winner, and Dustin Wolf marked his return home to the Bay Area with a stellar 21-save performance.

After withstanding a bit of pressure from the home side in the first four minutes, the Flames dominated the first period, outshooting San Jose 17-7 and holding their hosts without a shot on goal for over 16 minutes.

Wolf was forced into a doorstep save off Nico Sturm at the 2:30 mark, and from then on, Calgary consistently pressured Sharks netminder Yaroslav Askarov.

The line of Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Martin Pospisil was responsible for shifting the tide early, a lengthy shift resulted in a Pospisil chance from the high slot that Askarov turned away.

On their next shift, they made good. Kadri won a face-off back to MacKenzie Weegar, who fired a puck low toward the net that Huberdeau deftly deflected through his legs and into the goal.

Ryan Lomberg nearly made it 2-0 on the next shift, after being sprung on a partial break thanks to a nifty breakout fee from linemate Kevin Rooney, but his backhand shot was parried away.

The Flames totalled five high-danger chances in the frame, including a pair of in-close opportunities from captain Backlund.

Huberdeau came close to lighting the lamp again on the period’s lone powerplay, redirecting a back-door feed from Yegor Sharangovich goalward only to have it swallowed up by the San Jose keeper.

The teams traded powerplay goals in a second period that - again - saw the Flames carry the bulk of the play.

Just past the three-minute mark, San Jose evened the score thanks to rookie phenom Macklin Celebrini, who one-timed a shot past a lunging Wolf from the right circle after being granted a cross-ice feed from linemate Alex Wennberg.

But Calgary answered back on a powerplay of their own just under four minutes later on a goal that ended up being the result of a series of shots.

Blake Coleman’s initial effort was kicked out by Askarov, the rebound came to the point, where Rasmus Andersson skipped it across to Kadri at the right circle. His shot boomed off the right pad of the Sharks goalie to Backlund in the left circle, and the captain had ample time to slot home his seventh goal of the campaign.

Askarov was the busier of the two netminders in period two, as the Flames held a 9-7 advantage in shots on goal - he stoned both Jakob Pelletier and Kadri on high-danger opportunities in quick succession midway through the period to maintain the 2-1 scoreline, which stayed static until the break.

Defensively, the pairing of Andersson and Kevin Bahl drew heavy minutes, Bahl being pressed into duty on a Will Smith partial break that saw the Calgary defender race back and knock the puck away to the corner, a feat made easier thanks to the 6-foot-6 Bahl’s wingspan.

The Sharks forced the issue a bit more in the third, a period that breezed by; at one point, the two sides went more than seven minutes without a stoppage in play.

Coleman made a fine defensive play two minutes into the period, preventing San Jose forward Klim Kostin from accessing a rebound in the crease by angling his body and shielding the loose cage.

Wolf saved his best for last, though.

With the Sharks net empty, he made a pair of game-saving stops; one off former Calgary forward Tyler Toffoli at the right post, the next a robbery of a Mikael Granlund chance from just outside the blue paint with 30 seconds left on the clock.

Huberdeau iced the game with an empty-netter in the final second of play, scoring his eighth goal over his past 11 outings.

Kadri led the team with seven shots on goal, while Bahl played a game-high 24:07.

Backlund's second-period goal was the 207th of his NHL career, moving him into sole possession of 10th place among Flames franchise leaders.

The Lineup:

Forwards

Jonathan Huberdeau - Nazem Kadri - Martin Pospisil

Blake Coleman - Mikael Backlund - Matt Coronato

Yegor Sharangovich - Connor Zary - Jakob Pelletier

Ryan Lomberg - Kevin Rooney - Walker Duehr

DEFENCE

Kevin Bahl - Rasmus Andersson

Joel Hanley - MacKenzie Weegar

Jake Bean - Brayden Pachal

GOALTENDER

Dustin Wolf (starter)

Dan Vladar

They Said It:

The Numbers Game:

Shots: CGY 33, SJS 22

Powerplay: CGY 1-3, SJS 1-2

Faceoffs: CGY 47.3%, SJS 52.7%

Blocked Shots: CGY 15, SJS 17

Hits: CGY 19, SJS 16

*5-on-5 Scoring Chances: CGY 24, SJS 20

*5-on-5 High-Danger Scoring Chances: CGY 12, SJS 7

*Courtesy of NaturalStatTrick

Up Next:

The Flames wrap up this mini two-game trip Sunday evening in Vegas (6 p.m., MT). They then return home Dec. 31 to host Vancouver in a New Year's Eve tilt at 7 p.m. CLICK FOR TICKETS TO THE GAME/CLICK FOR TICKETS TO THE NYE PARTY