Dell shines, Thornton reaches milestone

CALGARY, Alberta — Sharks forward Evander Kane found himself on the wrong end of a big hit from Milan Lucic in the first period of Tuesday’s game with the Calgary Flames. Barclay Goodrow then stood up for Kane, taking on the hulking Lucic in a lively tilt.

Kane picked up another assist from Goodrow in the second period, and this one helped the Sharks snap a five-game road losing streak.

Kane scored the winning goal at the 8:02 mark of the second period off a pass from Goodrow from behind the net as the Sharks beat the Flames, 3-1, at the Scotiabank Saddledome for their first victory away from home in a month.

Brent Burns and Kevin Labanc also scored and goalie Aaron Dell finished with 30 saves as the Sharks began their two-game road trip through

Alberta on a positive note. The Sharks play in Edmonton against the Oilers on Thursday.

Joe Thornton assisted on both Burns and Labanc’s goals, giving him 1,500 NHL points and 800 assists as a member of the Sharks.

Kane’s goal, coming in his 700th NHL game, was his 20th of the season — the sixth time he’s reached that plateau in his career. Patrick Marleau also assisted on the goal, which gave the Sharks their first lead in a road game since they led the Washington Capitals 4-2 late in the third period on Jan. 5.

The Sharks entered Tuesday in 13th place in the Western Conference, 11 points back of the Arizona Coyotes for the second wild-card spot in the west.

“For us, it’s just about trying to win games and get some points and get on a roll so we can make a big push here,” Marleau said Tuesday morn

ing. “Start with one good win here. It’s going to be a tough challenge tonight for us.”

Lucic received a bit of criticism from the local media for not fighting in a pair of testy games with Alberta rival Edmonton.

Lucic seemed to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder Tuesday, though, as he got in a pair of hits in the first 10 minutes before he leveled Kane with just over two minutes to go in the first period.

Goodrow stepped right in after the hit on Kane and challenged Lucic, one of the NHL’s legitimate tough guys who outweighs Goodrow by over 15 pounds.