Tkachuk has goal, two assists, Flames top Sharks to avoid series sweep

SAN JOSE -- Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists for the Calgary Flames, who avoided a series sweep with a 4-2 win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Thursday.

"Really good effort, I think, overall," Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said.
Elias Lindholm scored twice, and Dan Vladar made 31 saves in his first start since March 19 for the Flames (43-19-9), who have won three straight, including a 4-2 win at the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.
"What a game from him," Tkachuk said of Vladar. "I thought he was awesome tonight. He was probably the main reason we won."
The Flames maintained their six-point lead over the second-place Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific Division. The Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Thursday.
Nick Bonino and Logan Couture scored for the Sharks (29-32-9), who have lost five straight (0-4-1). James Reimer made 32 saves before leaving with an apparent injury. Kaapo Kahkonen made five saves in relief.
"I always come back to the same thing, it's tough to win games if you're only scoring one or two [goals]," San Jose coach Bob Boughner said. "We're trying to battle hard, and we're trying to get that puck luck and get something to happen offensively. But you look at that lineup and where they're at in the standings, they're a pretty veteran team, and I thought for our lineup with some young guys we competed hard. It's just tough to get it done."

Reimer left at 8:43 of the third period following a collision with Couture in the crease after making a save on a shot by Blake Coleman.
"Yeah, I think he's going to be okay. [Couture] fell on him pretty hard and so they're still assessing him now and figuring out what we're going to do," Boughner said. "I'm hoping it's nothing too serious."
Tkachuk put Calgary ahead 1-0 at 7:19 of the first period. Timo Meier mishandled the puck at the blue line and Tkachuk broke in and scored on a slap shot.
Bonino tied it 1-1 at 14:29 when a shot from Jaycob Megna deflected off his skate.
"I actually thought I got hooked right before that, so I didn't even smile, I didn't tell 'Megs' 'nice play,'" Bonino said. "'Megs' saw me going back door. It hit my foot and went in. It was nice to get a bounce."
Trevor Lewis put the Flames back in front 2-1 at 19:05 when he drove to the net from the left and jammed the puck in at the near post.
"That hurt. All of those goals in the last 30 seconds to a minute in a period are momentum shifts," Boughner said. "We started coming back after the Bonino goal, and [Lewis's goal] stings a little bit. Not a great goal."
Lindholm increased the lead to 3-1 at 13:28 of the second period on a shot from the left face-off circle. It was his team-leading 37th goal of the season.

Couture cut it to 3-2 at 5:24 of the third period when he redirected a shot by Meier one second after a power play ended.
Lindholm scored into an empty net at 19:28 for the 4-2 final. It was his seventh goal in the past eight games.
"I'm super excited about where our team is at this year," Calgary forward Johnny Gaudreau said. "A lot of players are playing really well this season. It's been a lot of fun to be a part of this group and I'm looking forward to the rest of the year."
NOTES:Tkachuk's 34th goal tied his NHL career high set in 2018-19. He has 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in the past 10 games. … Gaudreau had two assists to set an NHL career high with 65 and tie his NHL career high with 99 points, each from 2018-19. He has 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in his past 10 games. … Calgary defenseman Connor Mackey had two shots and one hit in 14:47 in his season debut. He was recalled from Stockton of the American Hockey League on Saturday. … Flames forward Brett Ritchie had four shots and four hits in 11:56 after missing two games with a lower-body injury. … Calgary defenseman Juuso Valimaki played his first game since being recalled from Stockton on April 1. He was minus-1 in 14:32. … Meier had an assist and has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in the past nine games. … The Sharks had won the first three games of the series by a combined score of 13-7.