SAN JOSE, Calif. — William Stromgren's first NHL goal stood as the winner, Dustin Wolf made 26 saves and was named the game's first star, and the Calgary Flames beat the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Monday night at SAP Center.
Adam Klapka opened the scoring at 14:36 of the first period.
Jonathan Castagna's forecheck pressure forced the pass inside the San Jose zone. Klapka picked it off and beat Yaroslav Askarov low to the glove side for his third goal of the season.
Wolf stopped all 17 shots he faced through two periods, six in the first and 11 in the second.
Jake Middleton's backcheck denied San Jose a Grade A chance six minutes into the second period, and Simon Nemec put Macklin Celebrini down right after Celebrini got a shot away.
Calgary killed all three San Jose power plays. On one second-period kill, Joel Farabee drove the middle and drew a hooking penalty from Will Smith. Matt Coronato later drew a tripping call on Barclay Goodrow with his work on the puck.
San Jose debuted its Hometown Remix uniforms in the game, a lighter shade of teal the club calls scuba blue, with the SJ mark on the chest.
The winner came at 9:14 of the third period, and the play started in Calgary's own end. Nemec got the puck forward, Castagna chipped it off the wall, and Klapka chased it down and centred it for Stromgren.
Stromgren directed it on goal, Askarov made the first stop, and Stromgren batted his own rebound out of midair and into the net.
The goal came in Stromgren's season debut, three days after his recall from the Calgary Wranglers. He arrived with three goals and eight assists for 11 points in 11 AHL games, second on the Wranglers in scoring.
San Jose answered at 11:57. Working the puck from low to high, the Sharks got a shot in from the line that Wolf could not control, and Sam Dickinson found the loose puck in the scramble in front and put it in for his first goal of the season. Jacob Trouba and Kiefer Sherwood assisted.
The Sharks lifted Askarov for the extra attacker inside the final two minutes. Aydar Suniev spun and fired from centre at the empty net and missed wide.
Nemec blocked a Mason Marchment shot, and Wolf froze a Celebrini shot with 32.3 seconds left.
After a San Jose timeout, Farabee blocked two more shots and Marchment hit the side of the net. Calgary never did get the clear, but time ran out.
Wolf finished with 26 saves on 27 shots, stopping six in the first period, 11 in the second and nine in the third. Calgary blocked 20 shots as a team. San Jose outshot the Flames 27-22 and won 36 of 58 faceoffs, both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play, and Askarov made 20 saves.
The win closed Calgary's third game in four nights and was the club's seventh of the season. The Flames (7-8-0) sit fifth in the Pacific Division with 14 points, one point out of a wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Wolf has won his last two starts, the first time this season he has won consecutive starts, and they are his only two wins of the year. The Flames close the road trip Wednesday in Seattle before returning home Friday to face the Anaheim Ducks.
This recap is brought to you in part by Animas Painting — interior and exterior painting in Calgary. Reach Rafael at 403-604-5529.