San Jose Sharks beat Calgary Flames 5-2

With Jonas Hiller in net for the first time since late October, the Flames took on the San Jose Sharks in the last game of their road trip.

“It was a coaching decision”, DeBoer said. “We lost way too many battles”. For me, it’s getting back to that.

Meanwhile, San Jose wanted to get off to a fast start. The Flames denied Jones’ fourth shutout of the season at 9:42 of the third period when center Markus Granlund scored his first goal of the season with a wrist shot from the slot. Ward deftly nudged the stick of Calgary defenseman TJ Brodie away to free his for a one-time strike after receiving a short pass from right winger Joe Pavelski.

Hertl and Wingels weren’t the only contributors, of course.

Wingels and Hertl were benched for the final period of the Sharks’ 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night and both responded with big games.

“A couple key kills to start the second period that could have flipped the momentum, and obviously the two power play goals which really kind of put the game out of reach”, DeBoer said. We need those guys. “They were a key part of the game tonight”.

“It’s a fairly common injury and unfortunately, it’s a fairly common place to get an infection, just because it’s on the bone on the elbows and it’s hard to close up”, DeBoer said.

“Our line found a way early, and when you’re able to find your legs and get a goal early, it propels you the rest of the game”, Wingels said. They also got a rare look at another side of their promising young center’s on-ice personality.

The Flames played 20 minutes of good hockey, but it wasn’t enough to bring home a win during their west coast road trip.

“As a line, the three of us kind of said, let’s simplify it a bit”.

It was also a rebound game because the third line answered the bell after seeing its ice time reduced.

The San Jose power play needed to come alive at home. They took a major step in rectifying that shortcoming on Saturday by going 2-for-2 – the first a 5-on-3 goal by Ward at 10:04 of the second period, and a 5-on-4 tally 50 seconds later by left wing Patrick Marleau.

For the Sharks to win on a consistent basis and challenge for the Pacific Division crown, two players they need to get going on a much more consistent basis are forwards Tomas Hertl and Tommy Wingels. A point of emphasis DeBoer wants to see from this year’s team is a return to domination on home ice. The defense was much better and more careful with the puck than it had been on Wednesday, as it remained without Justin Braun with an infected left elbow.

“Clowey, he was a warrior”, Wingels said.

Martin Jones was solid in net once again stopping 25 shots for a. 926 save percentage for the night.

NOTES: Braun was placed in injured reserve, retroactive to Wednesday, when he missed his first game of the season…. LW Micheal Haley and DeMelo were San Jose’s healthy scratches while LW Mason Raymond and LW Brandon Bollig did not dress for Calgary. In the meantime, the Sharks called up Dylan DeMelo from the Barracuda. The Flames won all three meetings in San Jose last season, outscoring the Sharks 10-4…. C Ben Smith (concussion) remains out…. Hertl scored less than four minutes later, as the Sharks took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. He has allowed at least four goals in five of his eight games played this season. Calgary opens a five-game homestand on Tuesday against Dallas….