5 Things - Flames vs. Sharks

1. Goals-Setting

It's the final game of January, and what better way than to spend the afternoon lighting the lamp?

That's the goal for the Flames - scoring goals - as they host the Sharks for a Saturday showdown. GET TICKETS

The last handful of games have not borne a tonne of fruit, offensively speaking, but the belief is there - much like it was during the club's October drought - that better days, and more goal celebrations are ahead.

"You just have to stay with it, I think that's part of our messaging," Head Coach Ryan Huska said Friday, after the players took in an off-ice workout on the Calgary Roughnecks' home floor. "I think there's also, you know, the things that as a coaching staff, we have to look at to try to help them generate a little bit more, which is something that we're doing, (and) we'll continue to do. And then it's also a little bit more determination and urgency to find the back of the net. So there's a few different things that we have to work on.

"Last night (in Minnesota), I thought we did a pretty good job on it, and playing in a tougher building. I thought it was a pretty good road game that we did play. The execution, at times, was either a second off, or we missed on a one-time chance on shots like that. But it's a matter of staying with it and digging in."

The Flames outshot and outchanced the Wild in Thursday's 4-1 setback, but those chances they did generate went begging.

MacKenzie Weegar spoke Friday about internal discussions the group had in the wake of that defeat, the defenceman pointing to increased collaboration as one way to get back on track.

"When you talk to the D and the forwards, I think we can do a better job finding that connection, whether it's in the neutral zone or with more speed," he said. "Like I said, the D are maybe joining a little bit more on the offensive zone, trying to, you know, create some more confusion for the opposition. Whether it's a forward fighting a little bit more in the net-front, stuff like that.

"It's just the little things right now that I think, you know, it's the hard part of the game. But I think the discussions are important."

A dive into the numbers suggests those offensive opportunities might present themselves, too, against the young Sharks. San Jose has surrendered the fourth-most goals per game in the NHL this season (3.44), and their 44.8% Corsi rating is the lowest in the circuit, too.

But as his team looks to end the month on a high note - and put an end to their current five-game slide, Weegar figures the group is still optimistic.

"I don't think the frustration's really crept in," said the veteran D-man. "You know, there was a lot of great things to get from last game, but ultimately, it's still just, you know, (trying) to push for more offence.

"It was an open discussion today, and it's good that everybody can talk."

2. Know Your Enemy

The Sharks are right in the thick of things in the Western Conference playoff chase, entering play Saturday one point behind the Ducks for the second Wild Card spot in the West with 58 points.

The most recent of those points was claimed Thursday in Edmonton, where the host Oilers rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory, after Collin Graf, Adam Gaudette and Michael Misa staked the visitors to a 3-0 first period lead.

“I thought we played pretty well for 56 minutes, or whatever it was,” Graf told reporters post-game. “We just have to try to be better in all facets of the game.

"They’re going to get their chances and it’s on us to try to limit them as much as we can and try to keep them to the outside, and we did a pretty good job until the end there.”

When discussing San Jose, it's impossible not to glow up Macklin Celebrini; the teenager and Canadian Olympian sits fourth among NHL scoring leaders with 79 points. His 17 points in January are almost double the next-closest Shark.

San Jose's powerplay is clicking at 27.3% in the month of January, too, which has them tied for sixth in the League since the calendar flipped to 2026.

Saturday's game is the eighth in a 10-game stretch that sees the Sharks play nine times away from home. They'll wrap up their pre-Olympic schedule Monday in Chicago and Wednesday at Colorado.

3. Fast Facts

2025-26 Season Series

Saturday's game is the third in the four-game season set between Calgary and San Jose, with each team owning a home victory thus far.

The Flames scored a 2-0 triumph at the Scotiabank Saddledome Nov. 13 on goals from Blake Coleman and Sam Honzek, while Dustin Wolf stopped all 17 shots he faced to blank his hometown team.

The Sharks claimed the most recent meeting by a 6-3 final score Dec. 16.

Calgary will open up its post-Olympic break schedule in San Jose Feb. 26.

Did You Know?

Nazem Kadri is expected to suit up in his 300th game as a Calgary Flame Saturday.

Over his time in Calgary, he's scored 97 goals and 233 points, and he's been omnipresent in the Flames lineup, too, having not missed a game since signing as a free agent in the summer of 2022.

This season, Kadri is averaging the highest ice-time of his NHL career, at 19:31 per game.

4. Instant Chemistry

Flames defenceman Kevin Bahl already leads the team's regulars in PDO (the sum of shooting percentage and save percentage, according to Natural Stat Trick).

His 1.015 PDO rating meets the analytics test, while his ability to break up plays with his size - and reach - meets the eye test.

And since being paired alongside newcomer Zach Whitecloud, the duo have skated the fourth-most 5-on-5 minutes of any defensive pair in the NHL (a shade under 98 minutes played). They're also one of only five pairings League-wide during that span to own more than 100 minutes of ice-time together in all situations.

At least one of Bahl and Whitecloud's teammates is taking notice, too.

If you ask MacKenzie Weegar, the addition of Whitecloud has helped Bahl become even more steady than the reliable blueliner already was.

"I think he stepped in and he's done a great job," said Weegar of Whitecloud. "Obviously, has experience playing with a pretty solid team. Obviously winning a Cup over there, but he moves the puck well. I think he kind of stepped in and the chemistry between the two has been great.

"Bahler's been playing great hockey all year. So I think if you ask Whitey, I think he'd say, it's pretty easy playing with Bahl, and vice versa for the two. They're a great, great top pairing, and I think he's fitting great, and hopefully we made him feel comfortable, he talks about how much he loves it here. So if we can just keep that going with him, and making him feel like he's a big part of this team, I think that's huge for us."

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Martin Pospisil

From a physicality perspective, the Slovak Olympian has picked up where he left off, despite missing the first 49 games of the 2025-26 campaign.

Pospisil has dished out 21 hits over his four appearances with the Flames this season, including five Thursday in Minnesota.

He comes into Saturday's game two appearances away from 150 - and one point away from 50 - over his NHL career.

Sharks - Will Smith

When it comes to the Sharks, a fair amount of focus (deservedly) is placed upon Macklin Celebrini, but the man they call Will Smith Hockey is putting up solid numbers, too.

The No.-4 pick in the 2023 Draft, Smith has points in five of six games since returning from injury earlier this month including a three-point effort (1G, 2A) Tuesday night in Vancouver.

He's three goals away from matching the 18 he put up in his rookie campaign last season, despite appearing in only 39 games in 2025-26.