The Sharks began their second road trip of the season with a bang, as they got a huge win over the Calgary Flames 4-1 in their first game against a Pacific Division opponent this season.
The production on offense didn't begin until early in the middle frame when Alexander Barabanov scored on what appeared to be a breakaway to put the Sharks on the board first, with Brent Burns and Adin Hill assisting on the play. Burnzie made a beautiful cross-ice pass to set up Barabanov for the first goal. The Flames soon tied it on a controversial goal credited to Andrew Mangiapane, which was initially reviewed by the league and then challenged by the Sharks for goaltender interference. The game-tying goal stood and San Jose was given a minor penalty for delay of game. Apparently the league has forgotten what goaltender interference is.
Early in the third period, Nikita Zadorov laid a big hit on Alexander Barabanov, in which Zadorov's elbow made contact with Barabanov's head. There was no call on the hit, but it could've been much worse as Barabanov was able to get up from the collision. It is very possible that there could be a hearing from the NHL Department of Player Safety soon regarding that incident.
Following that hit, Logan Couture scored the go-ahead goal in what would be the game-winner for the Sharks. His shot had deflected off Nikita Zadorov's stick and went past Jacob Markstrom to retake the lead. In the process, Santeri Hatakka registered his first NHL point, and Nicolas Meloche getting his first point of the season. Team Teal topped off its winning efforts with two empty-netters from Tomas Hertl and Jonathan Dahlen in the final minute of this game. On the first empty-netter by Hertl, Brent Burns and Adin Hill each picked up their second assist of the night.
Adin Hill had a phenomenal performance in net, recording 37 saves and two assists. Hill becomes the second goalie in Sharks history besides Vesa Toskala to record two assists in a game and the fifth goalie in NHL history to record two assists and 37+ saves in a game.
As for the Sharks players that were in COVID protocol, none of them traveled with the team to Calgary or plan to do so to Winnipeg either. Five of those players (Nieto, Labanc, Meier, Vlasic, Simek) participated in morning skate in San Jose on Monday, while the other two (Karlsson, Middleton) began skating yesterday. All seven are on track to rejoin the lineup for Saturday's game in Colorado.
Overall, this is a huge statement win over a Flames team that has been playing incredibly well this season. In addition, the Sharks are undefeated when playing in Canada this season so far. Let's see if they can keep that going when they face the Jets in Winnipeg on Thursday at 5 pm PT.
Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App
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