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 Right winger Joel Ward's centering pass bounced off Flames
defenseman Mark Giordano and past goaltender Karri Ramo for the
game-winning goal at 10:21 of the third period.
"I tried to slide it across," said Ward after San Jose's second
straight victory. "The d-man slid and went off his leg and went
through the goalie's leg."
Both teams benefited from lucky deflections and bounces during the
game.
"Crazy bounces," said Sharks center Logan Couture, who scored his
first goal of the season in just his 10th game. "It was just nice
that we came out on top."
Defenseman Brent Burns scored a power-play goal early in the third
for the Sharks (20-18-2) and then assisted on Ward's game-winning
tally.
"He's a beast back there," said Ward. "He's a stud. We expect that
from him every night obviously. He's made a mark for sure in this
league and teams are aware of it."
After Ward scored to put the Sharks up 5-3, left winger Micheal
Ferland countered with Calgary's third power-play goal of the game
with 3:41 to play in regulation, but the Flames (19-20-2) weren't
able to notch the equalizer.
"We just didn't have it tonight," said Flames defenseman Dennis
Wideman, who scored his second goal of the season in the second
period. "We were sloppy. We were guilty of turning it over a little
bit too much and we gave them really good chances. The puck seemed
to be bouncing a lot tonight, but obviously it's both ways."
Center Joe Thornton had a goal and an assist, while right winger
Joonas Donskoi also scored for the Sharks.
Centers Sean Monahan and Sam Bennett and defenseman Dennis Wideman
also scored for the Flames, while right winger Johnny Gaudreau and
center Mikael Backlund had two assists each.
"Anytime you give up five you don't give yourself a good chance to
win," said Giordano. "A couple of them bounced off of us and in.
Those are tough breaks. I felt like we were right there going into
the third. Just a couple bad breaks and they took control of it."
Making his eighth consecutive start in net for the Sharks, goalie
Martin Jones made 31 saves to improve his record to 18-13-2. Ramo
finished with 13 saves at the other end of the ice.
Thornton opened the scoring at 5:07 of the first period when he took
a pass from center Joe Pavelski and made a quick move before tucking
a backhand shot into the net through Ramo's legs.
Although the Flames held an early 9-5 advantage in shots, it was the
Sharks who did the damage on the scoreboard as Donskoi tipped a
point shot by defenseman Brenden Dillon past Ramo at 9:27 of the
first.
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The Flames cut the deficit to one goal just over four minutes later
when Monahan picked up a bouncing puck off the skate of Ferland and
snapped a quick shot past Jones.
Couture gave the Sharks a 3-1 lead early in the second period when
he skated out from behind the Calgary net before turning and firing
a shot that deflected off Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton and past
Ramo.
"I would have taken it any way -- empty net, anything," said
Couture. "Just to see (the) puck go in the net is a big confidence
booster for me."
The Flames then capitalized on a two-man advantage at 11:12 of the
middle frame when Wideman fired a shot into the top corner over
Jones' blocker.
Only 15 seconds later with the Flames still on the power play,
Bennett snapped an 18-game goal-less drought when his wrist shot
beat Jones high to the glove side.
"It's definitely a big weight off my shoulders," said Bennett. "I've
been waiting for that one for a while. It's a little bittersweet
that we didn't get the win, but it's still a good feeling to get
one."
NOTES: Although Flames G Karri Ramo was hit in the throat by a shot
from LW Mason Raymond during a practice Sunday, he made his 12th
consecutive start in net Monday. ... LW Brandon Bollig made his
return to the Flames' lineup in place of Raymond, who was a healthy
scratch. D Ladislav Smid also was a healthy scratch, while RW Jiri
Hudler is out with a lower-body injury. ... San Jose's healthy
scratches were D Matt Tennyson and RW Ben Smith, while C Dainius
Zubrus sat out with an upper-body injury. ... Veteran Sharks C
Patrick Marleau suited up for his 500th consecutive game. ... The
Flames welcomed back D Robyn Regehr at a news conference Monday
morning to officially announce his retirement. Regehr spent his
first 11 seasons and 826 seasons with the Flames before going on to
play for the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings, with whom he won
a Stanley Cup in 2013.
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