SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks’ losing streak has reached seven games.
In front of a sellout crowd of 17,435 spectators, San Jose couldn’t match score for score with Calgary, the fifth-best team in the NHL’s Pacific Division.
Instead, the Sharks managed just one goal on 22 shots, squandering a strong performance from goaltender Yaroslav Askarov in a 3-1 loss. Askarov finished with 30 saves against the Flames.
Macklin Celebrini scored the Sharks lone goal at the 3:04 mark of the second period, a power-play one-timer rocket set up by a nice play along the half wall by Alexander Wennberg.
Celebrini’s goal tied him for the NHL rookie scoring lead with 27 points. He is alone at the top in goals and points per game among league rookies.
That score tied the game, matching the first goal of the contest by Calgary’s Jonathan Huberdeau less than five minutes into the first period. Huberdeau tipped in MacKenzie Weegar’s shot from the point to put the Flames up 1-0.
Calgary regained the lead in the second period when Mikael Backlund pushed a power-play shot past Askarov just three minutes and 46 seconds after Celebrini brought the Sharks level.
San Jose had to struggle through injuries for much of the night. Forwards Fabian Zetterlund, Mikael Granlund and Carl Grundstrom all left the game with injuries in the first and second periods.
Zetterlund and Granlund, who appeared to be hit by pucks, later returned to the game. Grundstrom, who endured a cage-rattling open-ice check from Calgary’s Brayden Pachal, left the game midway through the first period and did not return.
This made the Sharks scramble to reshuffle their lines, an obstacle they were ultimately unable to overcome offensively.
Huberdeau scored an empty-net goal with 0.4 seconds left to seal the Flames’ win.