Nazem Kadri scored twice and goaltender Dustin Wolf continued his mastery against the team he grew up supporting as the visiting Calgary Flames claimed a 4-1 comeback victory over the slumping San Jose Sharks on Thursday.
Connor Zary and Mikael Backlund both netted one goal and one assist for the Flames, who scored four unanswered goals to win their second consecutive game.
Wolf made 34 saves for Calgary, which has won nine of 10 games against the Sharks.
Wolf, who hails from nearby Gilroy, Calif., has won 10 of 12 career clashes with San Jose.
The Flames have won 50 consecutive games when scoring four or more goals.
Tyler Toffoli opened the scoring for the Sharks, who have lost five straight.
San Jose goalie Yaroslav Askarov stopped 25 shots.
After the Sharks opened the scoring early in the second period, Wolf held strong before his team mounted the comeback in the first game for both clubs following the Olympic break.
The Flames drew even thanks to Kadri’s tally, a top-shelf effort from the slot at 15:02 of the second period set up by a slick pass from Joel Farabee.
Zary put Calgary ahead with a quick-transition goal. Upon gaining the puck in the high slot, he unloaded a shot inside the far post with a partial screen set in front of the cage at 5:22 of the third period.
Kadri extended the Calgary lead 6:34 later. A poor cleaning attempt banked off Zary’s skates right to Kadri as he headed to the net, and the veteran forward deked out Askarov to make it a 3-1 affair.
Backlund’s empty-net goal with 2:30 remaining in regulation time rounded out the scoring and sealed the victory in the club’s opener of a three-game road trip through California.
It was a wasted opportunity for the Sharks to climb into the playoff race. After controlling the bulk of play in the opening frame, the Sharks were finally rewarded when Toffoli opened the scoring 77 seconds into the second period. While cruising through the slot, Toffoli perfectly redirected Mario Ferraro’s point shot.
–Field Level Media
