SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Elias Lindholm scored twice with a 19-second lead in the first minute of the third period as the Calgary Flames beat the San Jose Sharks 5-2 Sunday night.
Tyler Tofoli had a goal and an assist, and Milan Lucic and Dillon Doby also scored for the Flames, who lost five straight goals. Jakob Markstrom made 23 saves for his ninth win in the opener of a rare two-game series between the clubs in San Jose.
Thomas Hertel had a goal and an assist, and Timo Meyer also scored for the Sharks, who lost their second straight goal and went 3-6-3 in their last 12.
Jonathan Huberdeau, appearing in his 700th career game, provided a sweet cross for Lindholm, who had the net wide open for a powerful goal 16 seconds into the third minute to give the Flames a 3-1 lead. Less than 20 seconds later, Lindholm caught a pass from Rasmus Anderson in the left circle and edged past Kahkkonen for his 11th touchdown of the season to give Calgary a three-goal lead.
“(Huberdeau) made a really nice pass for me, and just to stay there and then (get) the second right away,” said Lindholm. “Maybe it won’t happen again, to score two goals so quickly, but I’m going to make it.”
Dobbie made it 5-1 at 2:10 with his sixth goal before Hertel scored on a power play for eleventh at 7:56.
“We were very satisfied with the way the game was going,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “The second period was a very even period and in the blink of an eye it was 4-1.”
Toffoli got the Flames on the scoreboard first when he skated the hole and fired a shot through the circles that edged out Kahkonen for the 11th at 7:13 of the first period.
Meyer tied it up nearly four minutes later with a one-timer on a power play in the first period. He found Erik Carlson Meyer after a fake slap and pass for the 700th point, becoming the first defenseman in the NHL to reach 40 points this season.
“I’ll have plenty of time by the time I’m done with this game to think about these things,” Carlson said. “Right now, I’m living in the moment. I’m very lucky to be in this league for so long to get to where I am.”
Lucic put the Flames back ahead for good with a single timer through traffic for the first time in the season 6:01 to second.
“Obviously it’s good to contribute offensively. But the main thing is to get a big win here to start the road trip,” said Lucic. It’s a huge time of the year for us. (It’s) a huge road trip for us before the Christmas holidays start.”
With 8:51 left in the second, Sharks forward Jonah Gadjovich and Flames defenseman Dennis Gilbert got into a fight. The two players traded haymakers, with Gilbert taking the worst of it after Jadjović delivered a right hook that knocked Gilbert onto the ice.
700 clubs
Huberdeau played in 671 games for the Florida Panthers before he was traded to Calgary in the offseason. … Carlson became just the 27th defenseman in NHL history to reach the 700-point mark.
Next
The Flames: In San Jose on a Tuesday night.
Sharks: Host Calgary on Tuesday night.
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