Preview: Calgary Flames @ San Jose Sharks 12/28/17 (37/82): The Flames Look To Get Back In The Win Column

Calgary Flames @ San Jose Sharks, 8:30 PM MT, SAP Center, San Jose CA

The Flames come back from the Christmas break with a rather important Western Conference showdown with the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks are 4 points ahead of Calgary in the West and San Jose has been playing very well as of late. The Sharks have won 5 of their last 8, including a 2-0 blanking of division rival LA on December 23rd.

The Flames meanwhile are in a rough patch as of late. Calgary has been in a rut that sees them win 2 games, then lose 3 games. This has happened twice this month and Calgary just had a 2 game win streak snapped by the Canadiens back on December 22nd. The Flames PP is still a nightmare and Mike Smith seems to be hitting a wall, so hopefully the time off over the last 5 days has cured some of those ills.

These two last met on December 14th with the Flames losing to the Sharks 3-2 in Calgary. This is the last meeting between the 2 teams until they see each other twice in a 8 day span in March. Calgary has a winning record when visiting the Sharks, but are an even 5-5-0 in their last 10 visits.

What’s Happening With The Opposition?

Last Time Out

Calgary Flames 2 Montreal Canadiens 3

The Flames saw their 2 game winning streak snapped at the hands of the Canadiens back on December 22nd with a 3-2 loss. The Canadiens roared out to a 3-00 lead over a Flames team that looked like they were already opening presents before the Christmas holiday. Two, late 3rd period goals weren’t enough and Montreal sent the Flames into the break with a tough loss. Here’s our recap and the highlights from NHL.com

San Jose Sharks 2 Los Angeles Kings 0

The Sharks last took to the ice on December 22nd and blanked the LA Kings 2-0. Martin Jones stopped all 28 shots he faced to secure the shut out and San Jose got goals from Marcus Sorensen and Joe Pavelski in the win. Fear The Fin has the recap and NHL.com provides the highlights.

Players To Watch

Calgary Flames

Sean Monahan (C). The future Flames captain is in a bit of a funk lately. He hasn’t scored a goal since a 2 tally effort against the Montreal Canadiens back on December 7th. He’s picked up an assist in his last 2 games, but the Flames need more out of their top goal scorer (17) if they plan on getting back into Wild Card contention. The road has been a good place for Monahan this season as 18 of his 32 points have come away from the Saddledome.

San Jose Sharks

Joe Pavelski (C). Pavelski came into December with only 12 points on the season. As the month is coming to a close, he now has 22 points. It’s been a great month for the Sharks centre as he’s picked up 10 points the 11 games the Sharks have played, including 5 in his last 5. Pavelski has also fared well against the Flames with 10 points in his last 11 against the Sharks division rivals.

by Mark Parkinson