Flames defeat Sharks 4–1, move to 54 points in Western chase

The Calgary Flames earned their 24th win of the season Thursday night, defeating the San Jose Sharks 4–1 and moving to 54 points in the Western Conference wild card playoff race.

Calgary remains nine points back of a playoff spot heading into play Friday, with the top two wildcard teams advancing.

After a scoreless first period, San Jose struck early in the second when Tyler Toffoli tipped in his 16th goal of the season just 1:17 into the frame.

The response came late in the period.

Nazem Kadri tied the game at 15:02 of the second, finishing a wrist shot off feeds from Joel Farabee and MacKenzie Weegar to send the teams into the third period even at 1–1.

The final period belonged to Calgary.

Connor Zary gave the Flames their first lead at 5:22 of the third, snapping home his 10th of the season with Mikael Backlund and Yan Kuznetsov earning the assists.

Kadri added his second of the night and 12th of the season at 11:56, finishing another wrist shot with Zary picking up the helper.

Backlund sealed it into the empty net at 17:30 for his 13th of the year, assisted by Matt Coronato and Zach Whitecloud.

Dustin Wolf stopped 34 of 35 shots for a .971 save percentage, while San Jose’s Yaroslav Askarov turned aside 25 of 28 for an .893 mark. The Sharks outshot Calgary 35–29, but the Flames controlled the third period, scoring three times to secure the two points.

Calgary is off Friday, though the standings remain active. Four games are on the schedule, including Western Conference clubs such as the Anaheim Ducks, Winnipeg Jets, Utah Mammoth, Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights. Movement in the race is possible before the Flames return to the ice.

Calgary is back in action Saturday in Los Angeles against the Kings, with puck drop set for 5 p.m.