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The Calgary Flames are desperate for a bounce-back performance when they return from the 4 Nations Face-Off break to host the struggling San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

The Flames, who have defied the prognosticators by remaining in the playoff mix through two-thirds of the campaign, sputtered into the break winless in three games and having managed only two victories in eight outings (2-5-1).

The swoon was extended when they surrendered a two-goal lead in the final seven minutes of regulation en route to a 3-2 overtime loss to the visiting Seattle Kraken on Feb. 8.

Calgary, which had fallen to three points out of a playoff spot before the league resumed on Saturday, is facing a make-or-break point of the season to keep any playoff hopes alive, but coach Ryan Huska wants to keep his charges from looking too closely at the big picture.

“The only message we have is for Sunday night,” Huska said. “We have a big game coming up after a long layoff, we’ve lost a few in a row at home, and we want to make sure we’re playing our best game of the year.”

The Flames will receive a much-needed boost with defenseman Kevin Bahl, who has missed eight games, and forward Connor Zary, who has been sidelined 15 games, both expected to return.

“Both the guys that were out missing for that period of time, it was a noticeable hole in our lineup,” forward Blake Coleman said. “I played with Connor a lot early in the year and felt that there was a lot of chemistry and we created a lot of offense.”

As badly as the Flames struggled heading into the break, the Sharks went through an even worse run. San Jose, which sits last in the league standings, is winless in four games and managed only one victory in 11 outings (1-9-1), with the most recent loss an 8-3 beating at the hands of the Dallas Stars on Feb. 8.

Although it is no surprise the Sharks are one of the league’s weakest squads, the organization expects to see a strong finish to the campaign.

“We’ve got 25 games to really push and be competitive,” coach Ryan Warsofsky told the San Jose Mercury News. “I thought there was, in the last couple years, (a feeling of) you just try to get through the games and get to the end of the season. We’re going to try and compete.”

As the Sharks embark on a seven-game road trip, they should have a couple of key players back from injury in forwards Alexander Wennberg and Nico Sturm.

However, as they head to a sixth consecutive season without playoffs, changes are coming before the league’s March 7 trade deadline. San Jose already dealt a pair of veterans in defenseman Cody Ceci and forward Mikael Granlund, who was leading the team with 45 points, for draft picks.

Pending unrestricted free agents Sturm and fellow forward Luke Kunin are trade candidates, as are defenseman Jan Rutta and both goaltenders, Vitek Vanecek and Alexandar Georgiev.

Despite the looming moves, the Sharks expect their youth-laden lineup to learn the commitment necessary to win.

“We’re not here to mess around,” said veteran center Tyler Toffoli. “We’ve been saying that all year. We’ve just got to get our game consistent and it starts with practice.”

–Field Level Media