Sharks top Flames 5-2
CALGARY – Before we dive into all the juicyrevenge stuff, let’s kick things off with a mandatory Joe Thornton milestone update.
Throw 1,000 points with the Sharks into the pile of remarkable achievements that Thornton’s stacked up this season, a list that includes 1,500 games played, 1,000 games played with the Sharks and becoming the 10th-most prolific passer in NHL history.
Thornton recorded his 1,000th point in teal on Thursday by setting up Evander Kane’s first goal of the night with a highlight reel pass through the neutral zone that he banked off the side boards. Fitting.
“I’ve had a real luxury of playing with some incredible players in San Jose,” Thornton said. “I’m real lucky to play on a great team for so many years and still going.”
Here’s what we learned in the Sharks 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames in Alberta:
Points trump fists in the new NHL.
When the Sharks last visited Calgary on Dec. 31, the Flames chirping inspired Kane to jump Matthew Tkachuk, a brawl that helped produce 64 penalty minutes in the game’s final 41seconds. Kane later said that he wanted to make sure the game had less talk and more action.
In Thursday’s rematch, the talk helped ignite the Sharks three-goal first period that they rode to victory.
“In a way that got us going,” Kane said. “There were a little bit of fireworks between the benches early, but once the game got going Experience: Eighth season
College: Colorado Contract status: Final year
of a four-year, $42 million contract The Kings acquired Burks from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday in a three-team trade that sent Iman Shumpert to the Houston Rockets. Sacramento also picked up a 2020 second-round draft pick from Houston.
Burks, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, gives the Kings wing depth behind guards Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic. He’s listed at 6-foot-6 with a 6-10 wingspan, ideal size for a shooting guard with enough length to switch onto small forwards.
The Utah Jazz traded Burks to the Cavaliers in November. Burks enjoyed it calmed down.”
A significant character in the drama on New Year’s Eve played a hand in each Sharks’ goal.
Kane scored first at 12:39, spinning around and firing in the pass he received from Thornton. Brent Burns recorded the second goal at 13:42, stripping the puck from the previous game’s biggest villain, Sam Bennett.
The Flames agitator knocked Radim Simek out for two games with a concussion by delivering a questionable hit that came nearly a second after the defenseman released the puck on a pass. Joe Pavelski called the hit “gutless.” Head coach Pete Deboer used the word “predatory” and general manager Doug Wilson expressed disappointment that Bennett didn’t face supplementary discipline from the league. his best season in 2013-14, averaging 14 points per game. He averaged 11.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 34 games for the Cavaliers this season, including 24 starts.
Burks had a big game against Sacramento shortly after he was acquired by the Cavaliers, posting 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in a 129-110 loss to the Kings. Burks is a career 35.8-percent 3-point shooter, but he has been on a roll recently, shooting 45.8 percent from beyond the arc over 15 games in January.
One concern for the Kings might be Burks’ injury history. He played only 27 games in 2014-15, 31 games in 2015-16 and 42 games in 2016-17 while dealing with shoulder, ankle and fibula injuries.