Calgary Flames in San Jose game preview: The Sharks meet Kiprusoff's reincarnation

I love the Sharks. I'm not going to hide it. They're the only tolerable team in California who isn't infested with diseases, Corey Perry, or Dustin Brown. Hell, Logan Couture blogged on the Players Tribune about "elite centres". The only article you'd see a guy like Corey Perry write is how bake with your poo.

To top that off, they employee the pinnacle of pugilists in John Scott. A man who once attempted to murder Philip J. Kessel and who murdered Tim Jackman casually with a backhand last month. When I go to the Stadium Series next month and see the Sharks probably blow a 3-0 lead to the Kings again, I'll be sporting a recently purchased jersey that may or may not have John Scott's name & number on it (it's probably going to be a Vlasic jersey).

"Yo, Mike what's the haps recently?"

Calgary's recent winning streak is because of two very important components from Scandinavia: Mikael Backlund and Joni Ortio. Both come from rival nations, Sweden and Finland that are basically European hockey's Canada and United States. Backlund has four goals and two assists since returning from injury. Ortio was called up after Karri Ramo charged out of his net and hurt himself. In that time, he has spectacular .984 SV% including his first NHL shutout he got against the Canucks.

From Thursday's win over Phoenix Arizona: Recap | Stats | Boxscore

"Oh hey Mike, what's dealio about those Shorks?"

Well they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday by a 3-1 score. Rumor has it after the game Joe Thornton went up to David Clarkson after the game and ripped out his still-beating heart of his chest. Those rumors were later confirmed false because I made them up.

Prior to that, they shared the same delight we had Thursday night by beating Arizona on Tuesday by a 3-2 score. I'm fairly certain Hertl spent both games smiling contently and thinking about pizza.

FTF Recap | Stats | Boxscore

Want to learn more about the Sharks? Fear The Fin is a great resource but if you love humor and hockey, Stace from Battle of California is your best option. She penned an opinion piece recently on the Devan Dubnyk deal to Minnesota that's worth your time.

Game time: 7:00 PM PST / 8:00 PM MST. 

Network/Channel: CBC, Hockey Night in Canada, and CSN-CA for you 'Muricans.

All-time Record: Calgary is 63-53-8 against San Jose life-time since the Sharks' inception.

Common threads: One time we traded the 35th overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft to the Sharks for a goalie named Miikka Kiprusoff. They drafted future Canadian Olympian Marc-Edouard Vlasic with that pick. Great deal for both teams, right?

Owen Nolan played 77 games with the Flames in 2007-08 scoring 16 goals and 16 assists. Then he went to Minnesota and never got an outdoor game. Ever. He spent 568 games with the Sharks for the core of his career registering 206 goals and 245 assists.

Approaching milestones: Patrick Marleau is eight games away from 1300 played. Mark Giordano is seven away from 500. Giordano was undrafted remember? Marleau has just been a consistent talent in the NHL despite criticism thrown his way.

Current records and leaders

Possible starting lineups (subject to change)