NHL Preview from The Sports Network

Saturday, December 5th (All times eastern)
Calgary Flames (17-7-3) at San Jose Sharks (19-6-5), 10 p.m.

(Sports Network) - The Calgary Flames will try to avoid dropping back-to-back road games in regulation for the first time this season in tonight's matchup with the San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion.

Calgary had a 10-game road points streak end on Thursday in Phoenix. The Flames had been 8-0-2 as the guest prior to a 2-1 setback in the desert, falling to 10-2-3 on the road this season.

The Flames have lost two straight on the road just once this year, an overtime setback in Chicago on October 12 before a regulation defeat versus Columbus the following night.

David Moss lit the lamp for the Flames, who had won four in a row overall. Miikka Kiprusoff, who was coming off back-to-back shutouts, gave up a goal in the second period to end his scoreless run at 161 minutes and 13 seconds.

"We weren't as crisp as we usually are. The Coyotes came out and they were ready to go early," said Jarome Iginla, the NHL's first star in November who was held without a point for just the second time in his last 10 games. "We didn't quite have that same push in the first period that we've had."

Calgary, one point ahead of Colorado for first place in the Northwest Division, did see Rene Bourque return from a six-game absence due to an upper- body injury.

The Flames play the fifth contest of a six-game road trip tonight, a swing that ends in Los Angeles on Monday.

The Sharks play host to the Flames two days after a tough 3-2 shootout loss to the Blues. Evgeni Nabokov made 28 saves, but allowed the game-tying goal with seven seconds remaining in regulation before getting beat twice in the shootout.

"You've got to give [the Blues] credit, they played all the way to the end," Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. "And they got two points, which I thought we should have deserved, but we gave them up."

Patrick Marleau had a shootout goal, while Joe Pavelski and Dany Heatley both scored in regulation. Heatley's goal was his 19th of the season, tied with Marleau for the team lead.

Joe Thornton had an assist, extending his point streak to 10 games. He has three goals and 15 helpers on the run and leads the NHL with 33 assists this year.

San Jose is 1-0-1 on a five-game homestand and 8-1-3 overall as the host this year. The club leads the NHL with 43 points on the season, good enough for a seven-point lead over Los Angeles in the Pacific Division.

These two clubs split four meetings a season ago, but the Flames have won five of the last seven meetings. That includes three of the last four played in San Jose.