Jokinen hat trick leads Flames by Sharks, 4-3

SAN
JOSE – Miikka Kiprusoff earned his 300^th career win and
Olli Jokinen produced a hat trick Wednesday night as the Calgary
Flames edged the San Jose Sharks 4-3 at sold-out HP
Pavilion.

The Sharks host
the Chicago Blackhawks Friday night before leaving for a nine-game
roadtrip. San Jose will return to home ice on Feb. 28 against the
Philadelphia Flyers.

San
Jose is first in the Pacific Division with 64 points. Los Angeles
is second in the division at 62, while Phoenix is ninth in the
Western Conference with 58 points.

Michal Handzus
scored his sixth goal of the season 49 seconds into the third
period to lift the Sharks into a 3-3 tie. Calgary responded with
Jokinen’s third goal of the game at the 3:25 mark off a pass from
Alex Tanguay. The Flames improved to 17-0-3 when leading after two
periods.

The Sharks scored
two goals in the second period to pull into a 2-2 tie, only to see
the Flames regain the lead on Jarome Iginla’s 21^st goal
of the season.

Calgary took care of the first
period scoring when Jokinen’s 14th goal of the season slipped by
goaltender Antti Niemi. Defenseman Chris Butler took an Iginla pass
at the top of the slot and fired a low shot toward the right post
that deflected off Jokinen’s leg and into the net.

Jokinen, on the way to a four-point game, was at the right spot to
give the Flames the 2-0 lead at 2:36 of the second period.
Tanguay’s blast from the right point on a Calgary power play went
wide right of the net, but the puck bounded back to the edge of the
net. Jokinen was able to pull the puck away from defenseman Colin
White and shove the puck past Niemi’s left pad.

San
Jose produced two goals in a span of 83 seconds to erase the
deficit.

The Sharks used
15 seconds of delayed penalty time to set up Logan Couture for a
30-footer past Kiprusoff at the 6:29 mark. Ryane Clowe and Joe
Thornton assisted on the play.

Thornton had the primary assist on
the tying goal at 7:52. Parked behind the Flames goal, Thornton
received a pass from Patrick Marleau, then found Joe Pavelski open
in the low slot for a one-timer past Kiprusoff. Pavelski, playing
in his 400^th career NHL game, became the third Shark to
reach the 20-goal plateau this year.

Iginla’s goal
came at the end of a 2-on-2 rush with 11:15 gone in the second
period. Jokinen, paired with Iginla on the successful rush, netted
his team-high 29^th assist.