The Sharks' five-game road trip isn’t off to the smoothest start, and after a pair of tough losses in Canada, the frustration is starting to show. Thursday’s overtime heartbreaker in Edmonton was followed by another close call in Calgary, where San Jose twice held the lead but couldn’t hold off a late push from the Flames. A shorthanded goal in the third period proved to be the difference, handing the Sharks a 3-2 loss at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
This one stings a little more because San Jose came out with purpose. Just over three minutes into the game, rookie Will Smith cashed in on the power play with a textbook tap-in.
Alexander Wennberg threaded a perfect pass across the slot, and Smith was right there on the backdoor for the finish. It was the kind of start you want on the road - crisp puck movement, special teams clicking, and your young talent making an impact.
But Calgary didn’t wait long to answer. The Sharks got caught in a 5-on-3 situation midway through the first, and Morgan Frost made them pay.
With San Jose scrambling in front of their net, Frost found a loose puck and snapped it home to tie things up. That goal seemed to tilt the ice a bit, as the Flames began to generate more sustained pressure from that point on.
Still, the Sharks managed to regain the lead early in the second. A power play that stretched across the intermission didn’t result in a goal, but it set the tone.
William Eklund drove hard to the crease and stirred up enough chaos to free the puck. Adam Gaudette was in the right place at the right time, cleaning up the rebound on the right side of the net to make it 2-1 San Jose.
Again, though, the Flames had an answer. This time it was 19-year-old winger Matvei Gridin who lit the lamp.
Morgan Frost - who was all over the scoresheet - sent a slick cross-ice feed to Gridin, who buried a one-timer past Alex Nedeljkovic. The Sharks’ netminder had little chance on the play, as Gridin’s release was quick and precise, beating him to the left side.
The backbreaker came early in the third. With San Jose on the power play and looking to tilt the game back in their favor, Joel Farabee turned the tables. He jumped a passing lane, took the puck the other way, and finished with a smooth backhand to give Calgary its first lead of the night - a shorthanded dagger that made it 3-2.
Despite the loss, Nedeljkovic was a standout. He stopped 39 shots and kept the Sharks in it, especially during a second period where Calgary carried much of the play.
Late in the third, he took a hard shot to the lower body and had to leave the ice briefly, but returned after a short break. His toughness and poise under pressure were evident, even in a losing effort.
Now, the Sharks shift their focus to the final two games of this road swing - stops in Chicago and Colorado - before the league pauses for the Winter Olympics in Italy. With NHL players back in the Olympic mix for the first time since 2014, there’s plenty of excitement on the horizon. But for San Jose, the priority is salvaging this road trip and heading into the break on a high note.