Filip Zadina had a career night Thursday as he assisted on two goals in the second period and scored two more in the third to lead the San Jose Sharks to a 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Zadina assisted on goals by Mikael Backlund and Justin Bailey in the second period as the Sharks took a 2-1 lead by the 7:50 mark. Then with his team holding onto a 3-2 lead, Zadina scored goals 37 seconds apart to put the Sharks up by three with 14:45 left in regulation time.
The four-point night was the first of Zadina’s five-plus year NHL career, as the Sharks improved to 5-2-2 since Jan. 16.
“It felt pretty good, obviously,” said Zadina, who had a goal and two assists in his previous 18 games. “We haven’t scored as a line in a little bit but we got rewarded for the work we’ve done recently.”
Bailey had three points for his first multi-point game in his NHL career, and Luke Kunin scored twice as the Sharks matched a season-high with six goals. They also scored six in wins over Detroit and New Jersey in December.
Flames goalie and Gilroy native Dustin Wolf allowed the six goals on 30 shots.
“These are games and days that you look back on and they suck, but at the same time, it’s a great opportunity to evaluate yourself as a player and a person and come back stronger,” Wolf told reporters.
Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 31 saves as the Sharks (15-33-5) split their two-game road trip. San Jose lost 1-0 to the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre.
The Sharks scored three times in the second period and had a one-goal lead going into the third.
Granlund, Bailey, and Kunin all scored goals 7:38 apart as the Sharks took a 3-1 lead. Zadina’s forecheck, both directly and indirectly, led to Granlund and Bailey’s goals.
Zadina intercepted a pass by Noah Hanifin deep in the Flames’ zone, skated with it to draw two defenders toward him, then passed it to Granlund, who took a stride to his right and beat Wolf for his sixth goal of the season at the 4:52 mark.
Just 2:58 later, Zadina forced an errant pass by MacKenzie Weegar, resulting in Bailey’s fourth goal of the season.
Calgary’s Mikael Backlund scored with 20 seconds left in the second period, a goal that was challenged for goalie interference by the Sharks’ coaching staff. The goal stood after an official review, but the Sharks killed the ensuing delay of game penalty, and went 5-for-5 on the PK for the game.
Blackwood faced 13 shots on goal in the first period with the only blemish being a Nazem Kadri goal at the 4:19 mark.
William Eklund had the puck inside the Flames’ zone but had It stripped by Martin Pospisil, who started an odd-man rush the other way. He put a shot on goal that was saved by Blackwood, but Kadri got behind the Sharks’ defense and had the puck go off his skate and into the net.
The Sharks’ best chance to score in the first period might have come in the final minute, as an effective forecheck resulted in a shot from the slot for Kunin, whose shot rang off the post. San Jose had eight shots on goal in the first period,
The Sharks for the second time were facing goalie Wolf, just the third player from Santa Clara County to reach the NHL. Wolf, before Thursday, had a 2-2-1 record in six games for Calgary, as he earned his first career NHL win at the end of the 2022-2023 regular season when the Flames beat the Sharks 3-1.
The Sharks now return to San Jose for a five-game homestand that starts Saturday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“Things haven’t been easy for us as a group, but I think it’s the one thing that’s been a staple throughout the whole year, we maintain a positive attitude and we’ve maintained trust and belief in the system of what we’re doing,” Bailey said. “Nights like tonight when all things seem to kind of go in your favor, it feels good as a group.”