The string of games the San Jose Sharks have been playing in the past few weeks does not get any easier tonight. Once again, the Sharks will face off with a team battling for a playoff position, the Calgary Flames. The Flames are two points out from a tie for a wild card spot. Calgary has 39 points, while both the Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks have 41 apiece. It’s a tight race.
Calgary surprised a lot of teams with the way the team started the season. With the loss of defensemen Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev and no significant adds in the offseason, the Flames were expected to miss the playoffs for another season. However, the Flames started off hot, winning the team’s first four games. While things have petered off since then, Calgary is still in the mix, thanks in large part to Macklin Celebrini’s potential Calder competition, Dustin Wolf.
The Gilroy native is in his first full season with the Flames and has more than proved himself as an NHL worth goaltender. Wolf is 10-5-2 this season with a 2.80 goals against average and .910 save percentage. While he’s split time almost exactly with backup Dan Vladar, Wolf has better stats in almost all categories.
Calgary’s top scorer is Jonathan Huberdeau, who has 25 points in 34 games. Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri lead the team with 13 goals apiece.
The Flames will also have a new face behind the bench, Trent Cull, who up until recently was the head coach of the Calgary Wranglers, takes over as an assistant coach. Cull fills the role left open by Brad Larsen, who left the team because of family reasons.
This is the first of four meetings between the two Pacific Division foes this season. They will play again on Feb. 23 in Calgary, then return to San Jose on April 7 before heading back to Calgary to wrap up the series on April 13.
The Flames had a little extra time off. This is Calgary’s first game back from the Christmas break. Meantime, the Sharks are on the second half of rare back-to-back home games.
San Jose Sharks lines tonight
We’re guessing that Yaroslav Askarov will get the start tonight since Alexandar Georgiev started last night’s game. There’s no William Eklund or Jake Walman, they’re still injured. Klim Kostin is back and Nikolai Kova. Here’s what we think the groups will look like.
Forwards
Klim Kostin – Mikael Granlund – Tyler Toffoli
Fabian Zetterlund – Macklin Celebrini – Will Smith
Ty Dellandrea – Nico Sturm – Carl Grundstrom
Luke Kunin – Alex Wennberg – Barclay Goodrow
Defense
Cody Ceci – Henry Thrun
Mario Ferraro – Timothy Liljegren
Jan Rutta – Shakir Mukhamadullin
Goaltenders
Yaroslav Askarov
Alexandar Georgiev
Calgary Flames lines vs. San Jose Sharks
According to Flames Nation, the Flames appear to be sticking with the line up the team ran with before the holiday break.
The Calgary Flames are sticking with the same lineup from last Saturday when they beat the Chicago Blackhawks. pic.twitter.com/XiXhY7OoSl
— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) December 28, 2024
Look for Wolf to play in front of his hometown crowd.
Forwards
Jonathan Huberdeau – Nazem Kadri – Martin Pospisil
Blake Coleman – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato
Yegor Sharangovich – Connor Zary – Jakob Pelletier
Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Rooney – Walker Duehr
Defense
Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson
Joel Hanley – MacKenzie Weegar
Jake Bean – Brayden Pachal
Goaltenders
Dustin Wolf
Dan Vladar
How to watch Calgary Flames at San Jose Sharks Dec. 28, 2024
The puck drops at 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT at SAP Center in San Jose.
Sharks fans can watch the game on NBC Sports California or listen on the Sharks Audio Network.
Flames fans can watch the game on Sportsnet or CBC. It’s Hockey Night in Canada, so there will be extra eyes on the game.
