San Jose Sharks aim to dominate Calgary Flames – NHL Preview
After losing three of the last four games, the dejected Calgary Flames face another tough challenge ahead of them as they travel to play San Jose Sharks in a National Hockey League (NHL) game on Wednesday, February 8, 2012, at HP Pavilion, San Jose, California.
The game will start at 10.00 p.m. ET.
Calgary is placed at 12th spot in the NHL Western Conference with 55 points after 53 games. The team’s playoff chances are in jeopardy, but the hope is not lost.
Out of Flames’ last three defeats, one came against the Sharks.
After a close encounter in which goalies of both the teams played their role effectively, Sharks scored the only goal of the game in the final period and got the victory.
Flames’ last defeat was also a hard-fought battle in which Anaheim Ducks overcame them in shootout.
Ducks scored two goals in the first period, but Flames hit back and scored a goal each in the second and third quarter to level the score.
After the goalless overtime, the game was forced to the shootout where each team took eight shots before the game was decided in favour of the Ducks.
Flames’ goalie, Miikka Kiprusoff, said after the loss that:
“We had a really good chance tonight to win it. It didn't happen, but it's the same thing if you win a lot in one building. If you start thinking too much, it's not good for yourself."
San Jose, on the other hand, holds a prominent edge over Flames.
The Sharks are ranked third in the Western Conference with 64 points after 50 games.
In the last game, San Jose got its three-game winning streak snapped by Phoenix Coyotes.
After the goalless first period, Sharks scored in the second to get the lead, which was soon taken away by the Coyotes, who scored three goals in the period.
Coyotes scored two more goals in the final period and the final scored settled at 5-3.
"It wasn't lack of offence," Sharks’ coach, Todd McLellan, said after the loss.
He added that:
"We had a number of chances and ended up with three at the end. We were not competitive at the times we needed to be competitive."
However, the failure does not give Flames an upper hand against the Sharks, who are still favourites to win the game.
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