Calgary Flames vs San Jose Sharks Preview 1/11/2016 (40/82)

San Jose Sharks @ Calgary Flames, 9 PM ET, Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary Alberta

The Calgary Flames come back from a long break to the visiting San Jose Sharks. Both teams have 40 points and are tied for 5th in the Pacific. Calgary dropped two valuable points to the Coyotes last Thursday and need these 2 to keep pace. Even though 2016 is still in it's infancy, the Flames need Division wins to keep pace in the Pacific. San Jose went 4-9 in the month of December and have started the new year off under .500 at 1-2. This the 3rd of 5 between these division foes with both teams earning a victory against each other this season. The Flames took the last game 4-2 on December 8th and would like to add a little space between themselves and the Sharks with a win tonight. Here's how they match-up:

The Flames took the ice last Thursday and blew a chance to jump from 4th to 2nd place in the division with a 2-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes. Once again, Johnny Gaudreau provided the offense and Karri Ramo did everything he was asked to do, but the Flames could only muster 1 goal. Here's the highlights:

The San Jose Sharks last played on Saturday night and absolutely wiped the ice with the Toronto Maple Leafs to the tune of 7-0.  The 7 goals on 31 shots were their highest output of the season.  Here's the highlights:

Calgary Flames Projected Lineup (these are the projected lines and can be changed any time before the puck drop)

Scratches: Mason Raymond, Ladislav Smid.

Injuries: Michael Frolik, Jiri Hudler.

San Jose Sharks Projected Lineup  (these are the projected lines and can be changed any time before the puck drop)

Scratches: None

Injuries: Dainius Zubrus