5 Things - Flames vs. Sharks

1. Back To Business

Off we go again!

The Flames jetted down to San Jose Wednesday afternoon with a three-game, Golden State road swing on the docket. 

And after a break, and an Olympic hockey tournament that captured everyone's hearts and minds, Calgary's NHL show resumes once again this evening at the SAP Center in San Jose. 

The team was put through the paces over the last week in a mini-Training Camp kind of environment, a series of sessions focused on preparing the team for a 26-game, 50-day gauntlet that begins tonight against a Sharks club against whom the Flames have enjoyed some success this season - in the form of two home-ice wins.

Veteran forward Jonathan Huberdeau was noticeably absent over the past few days, after it was revealed during the break he was being shut down for the remainder of the season. But overall, Calgary Head Coach Ryan Huska figures he and his staff have options at the forward position, with the three-week period between contests offering a chance for everyone to heal up.

"This is probably the healthiest we’ve been in a long time," the bench boss said after a brisk practice Wednesday at the Scotiabank Saddledome. "Unfortunately we don’t have Huby with us - and we have some guys with season-ending injuries - but having (John) Beecher back, having Coles (Blake Coleman) back, Marty (Pospisil) back in the fold,

"I think it gives us a group of forwards that have some good speed to their game. They can also play a physical, gritty game that makes us a harder team to play against. It gives us some nice options moving forward."

Beecher has not played since suffering an upper-body injury in a scrap Jan. 3,, Coleman has not dressed in a game since Jan. 8. and Pospisil arrived back in Canada Tuesday evening after being holed up in snowy New York for two days with fellow Slovak Olympian (and Sharks forward) Pavol Regenda.

This week's trip offers contests against the Sharks, Kings and Ducks over a four-day span, a stretch that leads into a month of March that will see the Flames play 16 times in 30 days.

And because of that, Huska was adamant he won't be leaning on one of his two Californian netminders - Dustin Wolf or Devin Cooley - to shoulder the load down the stretch.

"I don’t know if it’ll be an even split, but they’re both going to play a lot," Huska explained. "Our March is busy, and I think it’s a month that - if you overplay one guy - they’re not going to have the necessary time to recover.

"So I think we will see a lot of both players coming up to end February and into March, for sure."

Only 26 games left in the regular season schedule. 

Only a handful of weeks between now and mid-April to get those games in.

It's going to be a sprint to the finish, and it's high time to get to it!

2. Know Your Enemy

The Sharks return to action sitting in the mix for a Wild Card berth in the Western Conference; as of the beginning of play Wednesday, San Jose sat five points back of eighth-place Anaheim, and they'll enjoy home ice for 15 of their last 27 contests down the stretch.

And while this young Sharks team offers plenty of burgeoning star power, perhaps no single star is shining brighter in Bay Area hockey circles than Macklin Celebrini, who leads the team with 81 points. 

The 19-year-old carried that play overseas, too. Celebrini led the Olympic tournament with five goals, while his 10 points in Milan were second only to teammate Connor McDavid.

The Olympic tournament was a learning experience for Celebrini, but upon returning to San Jose, he admitted Canada's overtime loss in Sunday's gold medal matchup left a bit of a bitter taste in his - and his teammates' mouths.

"It was fun to be around those guys, play with them," Celebrini told reporters Wednesday. "A lot of those guys I’ve looked up to my whole childhood, it was an honour to play with them and be around them every single day.

"But it sucks, it’s a little sour when you look back at it, just couldn’t get the job done."

Fellow young gun Will Smith sits second among Sharks scoring leaders, though his 39 points are 42 off Celebrini's pace in 2025-26. The duo skated on a line Wednesday with newcomer Kiefer Sherwood. The hard-hitting winger was acquired by San Jose from Vancouver prior to the Olympic break after scoring 17 times for the Canucks in the first part of the campaign,

3. Fast Facts

2025-26 Season Series

Tonight's game is the fourth and final meeting between Calgary and San Jose this season, with the Flames holding the edge in the season series thanks to a pair of home-ice victories. 

Dustin Wolf turned in a 17-save shutout performance in the opener, a 2-0 Flames win Nov. 13 that saw Blake Coleman and Sam Honzek light the lamp. Morgan Frost, Matvei Gridin and Joel Farabee had the markers in the most recent meeting, a 3-2 Calgary win at the Scotiabank Saddledome Jan. 31.

San Jose won the prior encounter in the Bay Area by a 6-3 scoreline Dec. 16.

Did You Know?

Joel Hanley is on the verge of a career milestone tonight, as the veteran defender sits just one appearance away from 300 games played in his NHL career.

Hanley, who made his NHL debut in 2016 against the Flames as a member of the Montreal Canadiens, has also suited up for Arizona and Dallas over the course of his NHL career. Of his previous 299 games played, 116 have come in a Calgary uniform.

4. Sag-Jose

It'd be hard to blame hockey fans in Saginaw, Michigan for staying up late tonight. 

After all, two of their most famous junior hockey stars - both top-10 NHL Draft picks - could end up facing one another for the first time in their NHL careers.

Calgary's Zayne Parekh and San Jose's Michael Misa were key contributors in the Saginaw Spirit's hometown Memorial Cup triumph in 2024, but since they graduated from the Ontario Hockey League, their lone on-ice time together came at the most recent World Juniors in Minnesota.

Parekh joked Wednesday that the pair might not be able to contain their laughter as they square off against each other for the first time.

"It’ll be nice playing against him," said Parekh Wednesday, adding the duo were set to have dinner together after the Flames touched down in the Bay Area. "I’ll probably give him a couple shots and a couple chirps, and we’ll laugh about it.

"I think we’ll just be laughing at each other the whole time. I thought it was going to happen a lot earlier, but better late than never."

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Matvei Gridin

Gridin enjoyed his first career NHL multi-point game the last time out, scoring once and adding an assist in Calgary's 4-3 win over Edmonton Feb. 4. 

It's just a shame that we've had to wait more than three weeks for a repeat performance!

During the break, Gridin went back to the AHL's Wranglers, representing the team at the AHL All-Star Classic in Rockford, and he scored the shootout winner in his last game action Feb. 16 at Manitoba.

Sharks - Macklin Celebrini

What more can you say about San Jose's super sophomore?

Celebrini's Olympic effort has only helped his stock, and now, the young North Vancouverite is laser-focused on trying to help his Sharks return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

He has four points (2G, 2A) in the season series with the Flames, all of which were accrued in San Jose's 6-3 victory at SAP Center in mid-December.