SAN JOSE – San Jose was able to come back from a three-goal deficit Thursday night before falling 6-5 to visiting Calgary in the shootout.
Logan Couture scored on the first round of the shootout, but Calgary responded with Joe Colborne’s first-round effort, then won it on Jiri Hudler’s goal in the fourth round.
The one point left San Jose with 61 points in second place in the Pacific Division and fifth in the Western Conference.
Trailing 4-3 after two periods, the Sharks countered with the first two goals of the third period for a brief 5-4 lead.
Joonas Donskoi set up at the left post and deposited a pass from Logan Couture inside the netting to even the score. Dylan DeMelo scored off a cross-ice feed from Joel Ward at 5:55 of the period for a 5-4 lead while on the power play.
Calgary’s Kris Russell squared it at 5-5 with a power play goal at 8:08. The Sharks had two minutes of 5-on-3 power play at the 17:00 mark of the third but could not break the tie.
The Sharks gave up four goals in one period for the first time this season Thursday, allowing the Flames to go into the first intermission with a 4-1 advantage.
Despite putting only nine shots on net in the 20 minutes, the opportunistic Flames took advantage of one power play goal and a 40-second explosion that produced two goals before 14 minutes had expired.
Calgary jolted to a 1-0 lead 4:12 into play. San Jose’s Justin Braun skimmed cross-ice pass high in the Sharks zone that Flame Sam Bennett intercepted and whipped a shot inside the left post past goaltender Alex Stalock.
The Flames were successful with their first power play, defenseman Mark Giordano firing a shot from the left circle past Stalock at the 5:18 mark.
San Jose broke the ice against Flame goaltender Karri Ramo 8:45 in the period. Donskoi controlled a face-off and found Tommy Wingels open in the low slot for a one-timer past Ramo.
The Flames completed the first-period scoring with a pair of even-strength goals. Sean Monahan tapped in a pass from Hudler at the 12:46 mark. Mikael Backlund out-flanked Stalock for a 4-1 cushion at 13:26.
San Jose enjoyed an 11-4 edge in shots on net while scoring the only two goals of the second period. Logan Couture whipped a shot from the left circle by Ramo 48 seconds into the period on a power play. Calgary earned two penalties with 9:59 gone in the second period to allow the Sharks enough time to score on a 5-on-3 power play. Patrick Marleau’s redirection of a Joe Thornton pass at 11:17 made it 4-3.
NOTES: Thornton was named the Sharks Player of the Month for January. Thornton led to team in assists (13) and points (15)…Defenseman Mirco Mueller was recalled from the Barracuda to the Sharks on Thursday, although he not suit up for the game…The announced attendance was 16,854 at SAP Center…Ramo left the game with three minutes left in regulation due to injury, but backup Jonas Hiller was perfect on eight shots on net.
