San Jose Sharks Look to Avoid Burning Out Against the Calgary Flames
The San Jose Sharks are heading into the second game in back to back nights against the Calgary Flames.
Tonight’s match-up features another Pacific Division rival the Calgary Flames. After a huge OT win against the Vegas Golden Knights, the San Jose Sharks are seeking to carry that momentum into this contest.
Last night got capped off by Brent Burns bomb that beat Malcom Subban via the five hole just seconds into the overtime frame. The beautiful offensive sequence was set up by Labanc drawing the defense to his side of the ice. While facing the right side boards he back-handed the puck to an awaiting Logan Couture at the blue line who fired a well placed pass directly into Burn’s strike zone.
Brent Burn’s might have been the OT hero but Tomas Hertl drove the bus for the San Jose Sharks last night. He was a force to be reckoned with in the neutral zone and in front of opposing netminder. The entire roster came up big in critical situations with contributions coming from every tier of the line-up. Team Teal exhibited that they are able to play the fast and physical game that is necessary in the Stanley Cup Playoffs
The San Jose Sharks are in for another slug fest tonight against the Calgary Flames They too are also trying to round into playoff form with only a few games remaining in the regular season. Calgary will be rested and ready to go after a complete dismantling of the Anaheim Ducks 6 – 1 on Friday.
The seven game losing streak is behind the San Jose Sharks and last night sparked fire into a team that some speculated had lost their mojo over the past month. However games like these replicate the type of intensity that the playoffs produce and it seems Team Teal is ready for them to start.
The Flames have played well with skaters like Matthew Tkachuk and Mark Giordano leading the charge into the playoffs. Tkachuk has 13 points with 8 of those beings goals over the past 10 games. Giordano continues to make his own case for the Norris with 11 points in that same amount of time. The Sharks will need to keep these two check if they want to keep pace with Calgary heading down the stretch.
First place in the division and the conference is still a possibility for Team Teal entering the final week of the regular season. They’ll need to win tonight if they want to keep that scenario a reality. Here’s how the two teams will match-up in this one at the SAP Center.
San Jose Sharks
Forward Combinations
Timo Meier ~ Logan Couture ~ Gus Nyquist
Evander Kane ~ Tomas Hertl ~ Joonas Donskoi
Marcus Sorensen~ Joe Thornton ~ Kevin Labanc
Micheal Haley ~ Dylan Gambrell ~ Barclay Goodrow
Defensive Pairings
Joakim Ryan ~ Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic ~ Tim Heed
Brendan Dillon ~ Justin Braun
Goalie
Projected Starter ~ Aaron Dell
Backup ~ Martin Jones
Calgary Flames
Forward Combinations
Johnny Gaudreau ~ Sean Monahan ~ Elias Lindholm
Matthew Tkachuk ~ Mikael Backlund ~ Michael Frolik
James Neal ~ Mark Jankowski ~ Austin Czarnik
Andrew Mangiapane ~ Derek Ryan ~ Garnet Hathaway
Defensive Pairings
Mark Giordano ~ Rasmus Andersson
Noah Hanifin ~ Travis Hamonic
T.J. Brodie ~ Dalton Prout
Goalie
Projected Starter ~ David Rittich
Backup ~ Mike Smith
Puck drop for tonight’s game is at 5:00 PM PT live at the SAP Center. The game will be televised on NBC Sports California while the audio is streamed via the San Jose Sharks official app courtesy of 98.5 KFOX.
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