Music: {allcanada} Ramo, Hudler help Flames handle Sharks

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

{allcanada} Ramo, Hudler help Flames handle Sharks

A Very Special Christmas 25th Anniversary - Various Artists

SAN JOSE -- Karri Ramo made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season, Jiri Hudler scored two goals, and the Calgary Flames defeated the San Jose Sharks 2-0 at SAP Center on Wednesday.

The Flames trailed 2-0 in each of their previous four games, but they took a 1-0 lead at 17:16 of the second period when Hudler scored a 4-on-4 goal on a slick give-and-go with TJ Brodie.

Hudler dropped a pass to Brodie in the right circle and darted to the slot, ahead of Sharks center Logan Couture. Brodie hit Hudler with a pass, and his wrist shot snuck inside the left post, extending his goal streak to three games.

The Sharks, known in past seasons for their fast starts, especially at home, allowed the first goal for the fourth straight game.

San Jose (10-10-4) has lost four in a row and five of six.

The Sharks turned up the heat on Ramo with less than eight minutes left. Brent Burns' long shot went off the boards to Joe Thornton in the left circle, but Ramo made the save on Thornton's wrist shot. Ramo stopped Tomas Hertl's shot from the right circle with less than three minutes left.

With 1:44 left, Sharks defenseman Justin Braun went to the penalty box for hooking center Markus Granlund, sending Calgary on a power play. Hudler scored an empty-net goal with 49.2 seconds remaining.

The Sharks outshot the Flames 11-9 in a scoreless first period, but Calgary (14-8-2) had the best scoring chances during a flurry in the opening minute. Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau had a great chance from close range, but Niemi rejected his shot.

Antti Niemi, who made 17 saves, started his 17th game for the Sharks. His two backups, Alex Stalock and Troy Grosenick, are injured, and the Sharks made an emergency move, signing Ryan Lowe to a goaltender professional tryout agreement. Lowe was in the lineup as Niemi's backup. Lowe, 31, last played professionally for the Sydney Bears of the Australian Ice Hockey League. He played for San Jose State and lives here.

Stalock is on injured reserve, recovering from surgery to his left knee, and Grosenick is sidelined by an upper-body injury he sustained Tuesday at practice.

The Flames assigned forward Corban Knight to Adirondack of the American Hockey League to make room on the roster for David Jones, who was activated from injured reserve after missing four games with an upper-body injury.

The Flames announced that injured forward Mikael Backlund had an abdominal procedure Wednesday and is week-to-week. According to general manager Brad Treliving, Backlund has a weakening of the abdominal wall that was strengthened with a mesh plate. Treliving said Backlund might resume skating in two weeks.

Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas - Vonda Shepard