The Calgary Flames will look to make the most of a road clash with the cellar-dwelling San Jose Sharks on Monday to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Flames (36-27-13, 85 points) head out for a quick two-game trip, which includes a stop in Anaheim, on the heels of an emotional 3-2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
The negative is how they lost — the game-winning goal came when an attempt to send the puck to the front of the Calgary net actually ricocheted off a defender’s skate and into the cage — but the positive is that Calgary erased a two-goal deficit to gain a valuable point.
“Really tough bounce. Huge point though, the boys battled,” captain Mikael Backlund said. “Wasn’t the best start — we were really disappointed with the first period — but we found a way to battle back and tie the game. That’s a huge point for us down the stretch here.”
As of Sunday night, the Flames are six points behind the Minnesota Wild for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot with six games remaining. Calgary will have two games in hand on the Wild when the puck drops for their game in San Jose.
The Flames are up against steep odds to reach the playoffs but are not about to give up hope.
“We’re the underdogs, that’s the biggest thing,” goaltender Dustin Wolf said. “We came into the year with everybody saying we’re going to suck, but look at us now. We’re fighting for our lives to sneak in. I think we have a real good opportunity to put something special here the next couple weeks.”
The Sharks (20-46-10, 50 points) head into their penultimate home game this season aiming to rebound after a 5-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.
San Jose is still deep in the throes of rebuilding its roster, so gaining any wins is a tall order. Against the Kraken, the Sharks trailed 2-0 before the midway point of the first period and were unable to claw back even.
“Very frustrating. We were sloppy. I actually liked our start. We pressed,” coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Their first chance goes in the back of the net. Their second chance goes in the back of the net. That’s not how you want to start a game.”
The Sharks sit last in the league, having lost five consecutive games and managed only three victories in 13 outings.
“We’re trying to battle through it right now. We don’t want to be in this situation,” said forward William Eklund, whose frustrations boiled over in a late-game fight. “We’ve got a hard-working group, I love every guy in there, and we’ve just got to go out next game and compete as much as we can.”
Following this game, the Sharks head out on a four-game road trip, including a trek through Western Canada, before ending the campaign at home. On their mind is the quest to provide some positive vibes for their fans with a bounce-back effort.
“(Losing 5-1) is not what we wanted, to be honest, especially in front of a home crowd on a Saturday night,” forward Will Smith said. “We don’t take that lightly.”
On a positive note, Macklin Celebrini collected his 34th assist of the season on Smith’s goal, which ties him with Pat Falloon for the most in a season by a Sharks rookie.
–Field Level Media
