NO CHUM OF MINE

Back in the win column.
And how!
The Flames kicked off a crucial, California swing with an impressive 5-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday at the SAP Center, snapping a four-game slide.

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The Flames carried a 2-1 lead into the third period before scoring three in 1:54 - including two by Elias Lindholm only 19 seconds apart - to secure one of their most important W's of the season.
Lindholm added an assist for a team-leading three-point night.
Earlier in the day, the Flames recalled Dennis Gilbert from the AHL's Calgary Wranglers. Gilbert drew into the lineup, with Head Coach Darryl Sutter electing to play seven defenceman and 11 forwards. Brett Ritchie, Matthew Phillips and Radim Zohorna (non-COVID illness) were the scratches up front.
The decision paid off, with Milan Lucic getting some additional ice time and scoring a pivotal goal in a 1-1 game with a clapper in the second period.
Tyler Toffoli and Dillon Dube rounded out the offence, while Jacob Markstrom - who played in his 400th career game - made 24 saves
The Flames were far and away the better team in the early going, and at 7:13 - after building a 4-1 lead on the shot clock - they were rewarded for their relentless pressure on the forecheck.
Sharks blueliner Jaycob Megna coughed up the puck in the middle of the ice, giving Toffoli a free look from between the hash marks. With a quick flick of the wrist, the Flames had a 1-0 lead on Toffoli's team-leading 11th, after beating Kaapo Kahkonen clean past the glove.
A tripping penalty to Adam Ruzicka gave the homeside life with the game's first powerplay, and the league's 19th-ranked unit made short work of it. Erik Karlsson - who's been on a tear this year and looking more like the elite D man of old - whipped a beautiful diagonal pass through a seam and connecting with Timo Meier for the one-timer below the right circle.
1-1, five seconds into the advantage.
Shots on goal favoured the Flames 10-3 after one, but that told only part of the story. The visitors had a number of golden opportunities and could have blown this one wide open, but were just off the mark. The line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Andrew Mangiapane had four scoring chances, including a 3-on-1 in the opening minutes, followed by a breakaway that No. 88 struck iron on late in the frame.
In all, the Flames had a wide edge in play, leading to an 11-2 lead in chances, including a 4-1 advantage from the high-danger areas.
The Flames kept up the pressure in the second and took a 2-1 at 6:01 when Lucic tallied his first of the season. With Ritchie out and the Flames dressing seven defenceman, Lucic and Trevor Lewis played with a number of different forwards all night. On this play, it was Lindholm in the middle, and the pivot made a dandy pass into the high slot that the big man slapped home.
The puck caromed in off the thigh of Karlsson in front, but they all count - and the emotional celebration from both Lucic and his teammates and in the pile after said it all about what that moment meant to the group.

Speaking of seven D…
Just passed the midway mark of the period, the recently recalled Gilbert shed the mitts and had a spirited bout with Jonah Gadjovich. Both sides traded punches, but it was Gilbert that got the worst of it and had to leave for repairs. He did not return.
Sutter said he was "good" after the game. "He obviously got popped, so they wanted to make sure," the coach added.
Markstrom, who wasn't overly busy in the opening 40 minutes, made a pair of dandy stops late to preserve his team's one-goal lead. The first, a fabulous pad block on Steven Lorentz in tight, before robbing Nico Sturm on a partial break on a delayed penalty.
Sturm gobbled up his own rebound, but couldn't bury it from the sharpest of angles - sliding it through the blue paint and wide of the yawning cage.
The Sharks out-shot the Flames 13-7 in the period.
The Flames got a huge opportunity to open the third period when Tomas Hertl took an undisciplined high-sticking penalty right off the opening faceoff.
Just 10 seconds into the powerplay - and 16 into the period - Huberdeau came out of the box after serving his own carry-over minor and zipped a Karlsson-esque feed through the box, giving Lindholm for a backdoor tap-in.

A thing of beauty.
Then, only 19 seconds after that, Lindholm double-dipped, roofing a one-timer from the left circle after getting a splendid feed from Rasmus Andersson.
Two shots.
Two goals.

And they weren't done.
With the Sharks firmly on their gills, Kahkonen misplayed a simple dump-in from Kadri, thinking he had the puck covered, but was sorely mistaken. The biscuit popped loose and right on the blade of a driving Dube, who pounded it top shelf to score his sixth of the year.
The three goals in 1:54 gave the Flames a commanding 5-1 lead. It stands as the third-fastest three-goal stretch to begin a period in franchise history.
Dube, meanwhile, now has a three-game point streak (1G, 4A) and is now a point-per-game player in his last 11 outings (3G, 8A).
Hertl scored a powerplay goal at 7:56 to bring the Sharks a bit closer, but Markstrom shut the door the rest of the way, including a filthy pad stop off Noah Gregor, who made a fancy backhand deke on a breakaway down the stretch.

ONE-TIMERS:

Jonathan Huberdeau played in his 700th career game tonight. The 29-year-old has 203 goals and 631 points in his 11 years on the circuit. "I'm sure for everyone it's kind of like that. It goes by," he said at the morning skate. "You've got to enjoy it while it's there. It's nice to play in the NHL, the best sport in the world in my mind. You've just got to enjoy every moment of it. Pretty cool playing 700 and can't wait for 1000." … Mikael Backlund played in his 900th career game (regular season and playoffs) with the Flames organization tonight, placing him third in franchise history behind Jarome Iginla (1,273) and Mark Giordano (972). … Jacob Markstrom played in his 400th career game and is now 177-160-47.
Nikita Zadorov left the game late in the third period after blocking a shot. He did not return.
On Sunday, Chris Tanev (upper body) was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Dec. 12. He is eligible to come off IR as soon as Tuesday.

THEY SAID IT:

LUCIC ON SCORING HIS FIRST OF THE YEAR:
"It's obviously good to contribute offensively, but the main thing is getting a big win here to start off the road trip. This is a huge time of year for us - a huge road trip for us before the Christmas break starts - and we wanted to make sure we brought one of our best road games here tonight. Nice to contribute, especially when it's a 1-1 game to get that go-ahead goal and win that game."
ON HIS RESPONSE AFTER BEING SCRATCHED:
"Whether you dislike or disagree with decisions that the coaches make, you have to respect them and learn from them. You take the positives out of it, reflect on it and when you get your chance to get back in the lineup, do you do what you can to be effective. That's been the mindset the last two games."
LEWIS ON LUCIC:
"It was awesome. He's a big part of our group and it's never fun when you can't put one in the net. He's had lots of chances and it only takes one. Hopefully the floodgates start opening for him here. But yeah, it was awesome to see him score here."
LINDHOLM ON HIS BIG NIGHT:
"Probably not going to happen again, scoring two goals that quick - but I'll take it."

>> Click to watch interviews with Lindholm, Lewis and Head Coach Darryl Sutter on FlamesTV

BY THE NUMBERS:

Shots: CGY 25 - SJS 26
Powerplay: CGY 1-for-4 - SJS 2-for-7
Hits: CGY 23 - SJS 26
Faceoffs: CGY 45% - SJS 55%
\Scoring chances: CGY 27 - SJS 16
\High-danger scoring chances: CGY 10 - SJS 10
*Courtesy of Natural Stat Trick (5-on-5)

THE LINEUP:

FORWARDS
Dillon Dube - Elias Lindholm - Tyler Toffoli
Jonathan Huberdeau - Nazem Kadri - Andrew Mangiapane
Adam Ruzicka - Mikael Backlund - Blake Coleman
Milan Lucic - Trevor Lewis

DEFENCE
Noah Hanifin - Rasmus Andersson
Nikita Zadorov - MacKenzie Weegar
Connor Mackey - Michael Stone
Dennis Gilbert
GOALTENDERS
Jacob Markstrom - Starter
Dan Vladar

UP NEXT:

The Flames continue this four-game road trip on Tuesday with a stop in… well, San Jose. This is the first of two occasions this year that the Flames will play back-to-back road games in the city - a common practice that played out numerous times in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign.