Deep C Fishing

Before the C of Red, the Flames found a way to end the month of January on a happy note.

A powerplay marker, a short-handed decider, and a first tally in front of the home fans for a promising rookie; all part of Calgary's 3-2 victory over San Jose Saturday at the Scotiabank Saddledome in the annual Women In Sport celebration day.

Morgan Frost, Matvei Gridin and Joel Farabee provided the offence - Farabee's tally breaking a third-period deadlock, while Dustin Wolf stopped 23 shots between the pipes for the home side.

For Frost, his powerplay strike marked his third goal over his past four games, and post-game, the pivot shared that his recent run of form has been a real boost.

"First period was pretty good, and then just kinda built confidence from there," Frost said of his afternoon. "I think when I’m feeling confident in my game out there, that’s when I can start to be a little more creative and do some of the things that I know I can.

"Just felt good throughout the whole 60 minutes."

"Today, that’s the best I’ve seen him play, since he’s been with us," Head Coach Ryan Huska said of Frost's two-point performance. "The face-off circle, he had pace to his game, he was setting people up, he’s scoring goals.

"If you get that version of Morgan Frost every day, I think you’re pretty happy. He was excellent tonight."

The visitors got an early powerplay opportunity, and they cashed in to open the scoring 3:11 into the game. Alexander Wennberg found an open Will Smith at the back post for a quick strike, Smith lifting the disc past Flames netminder Wolf's left pad for his 16th goal of the season.

Calgary pressured pretty consistently from that point on, though, their best early chance coming off a Frost steal near the San Jose crease, but Sharks netminder Alex Nedeljkovic got his glove hand to a quick snapshot after the Flames centreman pivoted to his forehand in a dangerous area.

Frost got his revenge later in the frame on 5-on-3, whipping a rebound into the top corner from close range after Nedeljkovic spilled a Matt Coronato one-timer chance into the low slot.

Wolf made 10 saves in the opening frame, his toughest coming right at the buzzer when former Flame Tyler Toffoli tried to jam a puck through his right pad at the edge of the crease.

The Sharks got another early goal to start the middle stanza though, taking a 2-1 lead when Adam Gaudette accepted a pass at the right post, shoveling the puck home before Wolf could get back across his crease.

Down 2-1, the Flames turned up the heat, outshooting San Jose 16-6 in the second period. Frost had two more Grade 'A' chances, too, first redirecting a puck just wide from the low slot before undressing defenceman Mario Ferraro, drawing a penalty, and forcing Nedeljkovic into a high-pressure save as the Calgary forward crashed the crease.

It was Gridin, though, who put the teams at level pegging through 40 minutes, rifling a one-timer past Nedeljkovic from the right circle after a silky, cross-zone feed from - who else - Frost, for his first home NHL goal.

Farabee found his moment - while short-handed - 6:53 into period three. The winger swooped to the front of the net and after Mikael Backlund's slapshot took a member's bounce off the end boards, Farabee swiped at the rebound, chipping it over Nedeljkovic and into the back of the net for his fourth shortie of the campaign, tying him for the League lead.

Wolf had work to do to secure the victory for the locals. First, he stopped Smith on a chance from the left circle. Then, with just over a minute left to play, he got his shoulder to a William Eklund opportunity off the rush from in tight.

Finally, he splayed out to rob Macklin Celebrini's one-timer from the right cirlce with about 20 seconds left to play, denying the Sharks scoring leader with his best save of the night.

Frost finished the contest with a goal and an assist, while also winning 15 of his 18 face-off attempts.

Yegor Sharangovich posted a game-high six shots on goal.

The Lineup:

FORWARDS

Yegor Sharangovich - Mikael Backlund - Matt Coronato

Connor Zary - Nazem Kadri - Joel Farabee

Jonathan Huberdeau - Morgan Frost - Matvei Gridin

Ryan Lomberg - Martin Pospisil - Adam Klapka

DEFENCE

Kevin Bahl - Zach Whitecloud

Yan Kuznetsov - MacKenzie Weegar

Joel Hanley - Brayden Pachal

GOALTENDERS

Dustin Wolf - starter

Devin Cooley

They Said It:

The Numbers Game:

Shots: CGY 42, SJS 25

Powerplay: CGY 1-6, SJS 1-4

Faceoffs: CGY 56.7%, SJS 43.3%

Hits: CGY 21, SJS 14

Blocked Shots: CGY 18, SJS 19

5-on-5 Scoring Chances: CGY 23, SJS 22

5-on-5 High-Danger Scoring Chances: CGY 12, SJS 9

Up Next:

Just two games remain for the Flames before the Olympic break, with Calgary's next action coming Monday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. MT. GET TICKETS