CALGARY — Evander Kane scored twice and added an assist on Thursday leading the San Jose Sharks to a 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames in a Pacific Division showdown.
Kane has nine goals and 13 points for San Jose in games against the Flames since a trade last February.
Tomas Hertl also had two goals for San Jose (32-16-7) with Brent Burns adding the other.
Four consecutive wins moves the Sharks to within two points of Calgary for top spot in the division.
Mark Jankowski and TJ Brodie replied for Calgary (34-15-5), which lost at home in regulation for the first time in nine games.
Martin Jones made 36 saves in net for San Jose including 12 in a perfect third period.
Mike Smith took the loss after stopping 16-of-19 shots in relief of David Rittich, who was pulled in the first period.
Flames struck first on Jankowski’s goal at 4:36 of the opening period, but the early lead unravelled in 85 seconds when the Sharks scored on three straight shots and against two different goaltenders.
Kane tied it at 12:39 when he spun and sent a shot on net that dribbled through the pads of Rittich. Rittich then raced to a loose puck, but fired it straight into Burns, who skated in by himself and slid it into the vacated net.
That was the end of the night for Rittich after allowing two goals on six shots.
It didn’t start off any better for Smith, who was beaten by a Hertl deflection 22 seconds after entering the game.
Down 4-1 after Kane scored on his own rebound at 16:27 of the second, the Flames got back to within two on Brodie’s power-play goal less than two minutes later.
Calgary poured on the pressure for much of the third period, but couldn’t get any closer despite several great chances.
In one furious stretch on the power play, Calgary had a bunch of dangerous opportunities that were either stopped or didn’t get through, punctuated by Lindholm’s shot at an empty net hitting Simek in the chest, with Jones trapped out of the net.
On his next shift, Lindholm raced down the ice on a two on one and wired a shot off the goal post.
Hertl put the game away with a power-play goal with 1:23 remaining.
Notes: Joe Thornton had an assist for his 1,000th point as a Shark. His 1,047th career assist moves him within two of Gordie Howe for ninth all-time.. Calgary falls to 24-4-1 when scoring first… Elias Lindholm’s 10-game point streak was snapped.
Darren Haynes, The Canadian Press
