Sharks 2, Flames 1
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Joe Pavelski tie-breaking goal late in the third period enabled the Sharks to post a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Calgary on Friday night at HP Pavilion.
The victory was San Jose's seventh straight, matching the season-opening streak, and moved the Sharks one point ahead of Los Angeles into fourth place in the Western Conference standings. Both the Kings and Sharks have 11 games remaining.
Calgary lost for the 12th straight time on the road.
On the game-winning goal, T.J. Galiardi won a battle in the corner and moved the puck toward the net where Brent Burns put a shot on goal and kicked the rebound to the side of the net where Pavelski had an open cage to deposit his 12th goal of the season.
San Jose's Dan Boyle tied the game early in the third period with his seventh goal of the season and second in as many games.
Shortly after San Jose's third failed power play of the night Boyle ran a give-and-go with Logan Couture, who slipped a pass back to the defenseman in the slot for a short-draw slap shot that beat Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff at 2:40.
The teams traded failed power-play chances during a scoreless second period that featured each team putting eight shots on goal.
The Flames scored the only goal of the first period despite getting outshot 17-10. The Flames needed only six seconds to convert a hooking penalty on Couture at 17:49.
Mikael Backlund won an offensive-zone faceoff from Patrick Marleau, got the puck back from teammate Mike Cammalleri and wristed his sixth goal of the season from the top of the right circle through Sharks goalie Antti Niemi.
It marked the first power-play goal allowed by San Jose since March 23 against Minnesota. Nearly penalty free for six games, the Sharks were 7-for-7 during the winning streak coming into Friday's game.
NOTES: Neither trade-deadline acquisition -- forward Raffi Torres nor defenseman Scott Hannan suited up. Torres could debut on Sunday when San Jose's seven-game homestand concludes with a matinee against Dallas. Hannan has not played since March 17 due to an upper-body injury. ... Rookie forward Tim Kennedy was a healthy scratch while defenseman Jason Demers missed his fourth straight game due to injury. ... Calgary defenseman and alternate captain Mark Giordano did not travel with the team as he and his wife are expecting their first child. . ... The Sharks signed a pair of free-agent collegiate forwards, Rylan Schwartz and Eriah Hayes. Schwartz, 23, led all NCAA scorers this season, collecting 53 points (20 goals, 33 assists) in 41 games during his senior season at Colorado College. Hayes, 24, ranked second on Minnesota State University with 36 points (20 goals, 16 assists) in 41 games.
