Now to see what the San Jose Sharks do for an encore when they play host to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
The Sharks kick off a three-game homestand not only sitting in a Western Conference wild-card playoff position, but they’re riding a two-game winning streak in the wake of one of the wildest comebacks in league history.
San Jose ended a road swing with Saturday’s 6-5 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sharks scored five unanswered goals in a comeback that began with less than eight minutes remaining in regulation time.
“We’re never going to give up, no matter what the score is,” said Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky. “We’re just going to keep working. Credit to the group to do that.”
In their previous outing, the Sharks trailed late in the second period before beating the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2, in overtime.
To no one’s surprise, rising star Macklin Celebrini, who stands third in the league’s scoring race with 47 points, played a big part in the comeback at Pittsburgh by netting one goal in a three-point outing, but the Sharks are rolling because everybody is contributing.
The big player to step up lately is defenseman John Klingberg, who started and finished the Pittsburgh rally with goals. He owns a four-game point streak during which he has collected four goals and three assists.
“We show that we can win games in a different fashion,” Klingberg said. “We’ve been coming back in a lot of games. We’ve been able to close out games.”
On Monday, the club placed forwards Will Smith and Phillipp Kurashev on the injured list. Both were hurt in the Pittsburgh game. Forwards Igor Chernyshov and Ethan Cardwell have been summoned from the minors.
The Flames sit five points behind the Sharks in the standings, so they know this clash is a golden chance to close that gap.
Calgary may sit 30th overall in scoring with 2.55 goals per game, but the Flames have won four of their last five and are in the middle of a 9-4-2 run after opening their two-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
Making the meeting even more important is the fact the players’ dads — or similar mentors — are on the trip. Playing for Dad adds an extra level of intensity.
“To my knowledge, with the dads we’re 4-0 (the past couple of trips), so hopefully keep it running,” said forward Blake Coleman, whose short-handed goal in the second period kicked off his team’s comeback against the Kings.
“For a road game, that was about as complete, and as well, as you could play. It was up and down the lineup, to a man everybody showed up tonight. I guess the dads brought the juice we needed.”
The Flames outshot the Kings 38-21 in the clash, including a 17-3 margin in the second period.
The quest is to duplicate a start-to-finish performance and continue the team’s winning ways against the Northern California squad.
Calgary has won the last seven meetings with the Sharks and 12 of the last 13 overall. No. 1 goaltender Dustin Wolf, who hails from nearby Gilroy, Calif., owns a career 8-1-0 record against San Jose. That’s twice as many wins as he has against any other NHL squad. He also has posted a 1.88 goals-against average and .924 save percentage against the Sharks along with one shutout — a 2-0 decision on Nov. 13 in Calgary.
