Sharks finish Canadian road swing with loss to Calgary as Joel Farabee’s shorthanded goal makes the difference late
The Sharks are continuing a five-game road trip with a bad taste in their mouth after back-to-back losses to end a three-game Canadian road swing.
After losing to Edmonton in overtime on Thursday, San Jose took two early leads in Calgary, but a late shorthanded goal by Joel Farabee gave the Flames a 3-2 lead and the win at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
San Jose’s road trip continues with games at Chicago and Colorado before the NHL takes an extended break for the Winter Olympics in Italy, which will feature NHL players for the first time since 2014.
Will Smith scored the game’s opening goal on a power-play tap-in at the 3:11 mark of the first period, depositing a perfect pass across the slot from Alexander Wennberg for the backdoor score.
Calgary responded later in the period when Morgan Frost flung in a loose puck in front of the net as the Sharks scrambled to defend down two men.
San Jose got back on the board just after the expiration of a power play that carried across the first two periods, as William Eklund drove the net and poked a puck loose in the crease that found Adam Gaudette’s stick on the right side of the net for a quick tap.
Matvei Gridin answered for Calgary off a beautiful cross-ice pass from Morgan Frost, who winged the puck across the shot for a fluid one-time finish from Gridin. The 19-year-old winger beat Sharks goalie Alex Nedejkovic to his left side.
Calgary took its first lead when Farabee swiped in a backhand shot while the Flames were shorthanded at the 6:53 mark of the third period.
Goaltender Alex Nedelkovic, who made 39 saves to keep the Sharks in the game, left the contest with 3:15 remaining after taking a hard shot to his lower body. He returned to the ice after taking some time during a break in the action.
Check back for updates to this story.
Subscribe to our Bay Area Preps HQ newsletter for all our Bay Area high school sports coverage, including game analysis, scores, and everything you want to know about your Bay Area high school teams.