The Calgary Flames wanted and needed the two points more than Sharks tonight and they came away with a 4-3 victory. Mikka Kiprusoff’s 300th career victory came against the team that drafted him as he was stellar tonight stopping 34 shots.

The other big story of the night was Olli Jokinen scored a hat trick plus an assist factoring in on all four Calgary goals.

This game for the Sharks was similar to the last game they played against the Coyotes; it displayed a lack of intensity and desperation.

Coach Todd McLellan was not happy with his team’s effort “This is two games in a row where the opponent had a lot more desperation in their game, especially early.”

The Sharks missed their leader on the point tonight as Dan Boyle was out with the flu. As a result the pairings were mixed and mashed. Vlasic played with White, Brent Burns and Douglas Murray played together, which left Justin Braun and Jim Vandermeer as a unit.

Boyle’s absence left this team short-handed in many ways. His puck moving ability was sorely missed as well as his ability to find the open man and make the right breakout pass. The D men as a whole looked uncertain of plays they made without their leader there to guide them in the right direction.

The game winner came from a bad turnover by Colin White however the forwards left the zone too early, which in a tight game it was hard to believe happened and even harder to watch.

We found out how important Boyle is to the Sharks because without him tonight the team, but in particular the rearguards looked out of sync.

The coach commented on Boyle’s absence “I thought it had a huge impact” he said. “Dan is a tremendous hockey player, he means a lot to our hockey club but we should be able to work our way through it.
“It was a team loss of course, we missed him, he’ll be back and we’ll be better.”

The history of the rivalry between the Flames and the Sharks continues with each passing year and lately it has been one-sided. The Sharks won the previous five meetings dating back to last season. Prior to the All-Star break these teams played two defensive games that resulted in a 2-1 shoot-out win and 1-0 for the Sharks.

In the game of momentum swings the Sharks had theirs in the second period with a sniper shot from Couture with an extra attacker from a delayed penalty and when Patrick Marleau was moved back to the top line with the Joe’s (Thornton and Pavelski.)

They dominated down low and controlled the pace of the game and for a while it looked as though they were going to keep the momentum going in their favor and pile the goals on.

It will be interesting to see if Marleau stays on the top line for Friday’s game against the Blackhawks.

Unfortunately for the Sharks the momentum swung right back to the Flames when after nearly scoring on Kiprusof to take their first lead of the night Jarome Iginla went the other way on an odd man rush and scored on a one-timer.

Scoring details

1st Period
Cal – 12:30 –EV – 13 O.Jokinen(14) – assists – 44 C.Butler(11), 12 J.Iginla(23)

2nd Period
Cal – 2:36 –PP – 13 O.Jokinen(15) – assists – 40 A.Tanguay(21), 93 M.Cammalleri(14)

SJ - 6:29 –EV 39 L.Couture(23) – assists – 29 R.Clowe(21), 19 J.Thornton(34)

SJ – 7:52 –EV – 8 J.Pavelski(20) – assists - 19 J.Thornton(35), 12 P.Marleau(22)

Cal – 11:15 –EV – 12 J.Iginla(21) – assists – 13 O.Jokinen(29)

3rd Period
SJ – 0:49 –PP – 26 M.Handzus(6) – assists – 88 B.Burns(15)

Cal – 3:25 –EV 13 O.Jokinen(16) – assists – 40 A.Tanguay(22)

The turning point tonight was the third goal scored by the Flames which gave them a 3-2 lead at the time. That goal stopped a Sharks onslaught of pressure and took the gusts out of their sails. You could feel the energy in the building deflate after that goal and it was easy to see the energy on the ice slip as well.

The other argument is that the turning point was when number 22, Dan Boyle didn’t suit up. I hate to beat the dead horse but his leadership was missed and the turning point could have been his absence.

Contenders & Pretenders

Contenders

Olli Jokinen – is the game’s first contender for being opportunistic with his chances. He had three shots on net and three goals, and he also set up the other one for Cow town.

Mikka Kiprusoff – has been one of the league’s elite goalies for years now and tonight he earned his 300th career win. He is the game’s second contender.

Joe Pavelski – played in his 400th career game as a Shark and scored a big goal tonight but played a strong game for San Jose. He also continues to dominate in the face-off circle.

Pretenders

Sharks defense – as a whole can take one on the chin for not stepping up. As a collective group they have the ability to bring to the game what Dan Boyle does, and tonight they failed.

Ryane Clowe – has played better and tonight he didn’t have his mojo going. He left the zone early on the game winning goal which proved costly.

The Sharks face their foes in the Chicago Blackhawks Friday night who lost their sixth straight game tonight.

Keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam Gore

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