Flames capitalize on Sharks mistakes in 2-1 victory

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks had their speed and talent nullified by strong play from the Flames' fourth liners in a 2-1 loss to Calgary on Monday evening at SAP Center.

In what unfortunately has been a theme for the Sharks, shaky play from one of their defensemen lead directly to the first tally of the game. Nolan Allan's attempt to exit the zone resulted in an errant pass that Adam Klapka intercepted inside the Sharks zone. Klapka skated in and beat Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov glove side at 5:24 of the first period. Calgary (7-8-0) took a 1-0 lead into the intermission in an opening frame that saw the Flames outshot the Sharks by a 12-6 margin.

Despite some scoring chances generated by the top line of Tyler Toffoli, Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, the Sharks offense sputtered for most of the second period as well as opposing goalie Dustin Wolf was seldom tested halfway through the contest.

To supplement their troubles creating anything dangerous five-on-five, San Jose found itself having to kill off two penalties in the second period including a brief 5-on-3 when there was a four-second overlap between a trip by Barclay Goodrow and an expiring penalty from Smith.

However, toward the end of the second period, San Jose's power play units did produce some moments of excitement for a crowd that was looking for any excuse to cheer. The power play effort ultimately came away empty-handed but did create four shots on goal, giving Wolf some of his toughest challenges of the night up to that point. Wolf said he was pleased with the effort in front of him on a night where the shot total was limited.

“I thought our guys' sticks were excellent tonight,” he said. “They were poking pucks away, poking them up the wall, and keeping it out of our zone. Especially the last two minutes (San Jose) didn't really get a lot. They were outstanding blocking shots and that's what we need to do win hockey games.” The Sharks (7-8-1) would find themselves down 2-0 when an odd man rush went poorly defended allowing William Stromgren to put away a bouncing puck for his first career NHL goal in his fourth ever game at this level. The Flames’ fourth line account for both team’s goals on the night.

San Jose did manage to show signs of life when defenseman Sam Dickinson put away a bouncing puck for his second career NHL goal to cut the deficit in half. Though Dickinson and company were unable to find the equalizer, the young D-man did appear to put more of an emphasis on attacking late in the game as San Jose looked to tie the game.

“I was just trying to move my feet,” he said. “I feel like I've said it 100 times so far that when I move my feet I feel like I'm at my best. I have to understand that and use it to my strength.”

Aside from Dickinson's late goal, the Shark Tank was relatively quiet for most of the night, except for the loud cheers that were elicited when the jumbotron showed a young Sharks fan wearing a Sharks onesie.

While the energy on the ice was lacking at time as well, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky says he thinks the team is going to turn a corner soon.

“You can feel it on the bench and in the dressing room. I think our game is coming. I do believe in that,” he said. “Of course, we're frustrated but this is where we're at. It's what we've got to work with.”

Askarov made 21 saves on 22 shots faced, his fifth consecutive game limiting opponents to two or fewer goals against. He has allowed three or fewer goals in six of his past seven appearances. His counterpart Wolf finished the evening stopping 26 of the 27 shots he faced to pick up his third win of the season.

San Jose heads out on the road to start a three-game road trip down in SoCal when they take on their rival the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday November 4 at 7:00pm from Crypto.com Arena.