Giordano lost to injury in costly loss to Sharks
SAN JOSE 3, CALGARY 1
The Calgary Flames, if they fancy themselves to be a playoff contender, can’t afford to lose to a cellar-dweller.
They really, really can’t afford to lose their captain and workhorse defenceman to injury.
In that case, Tuesday could turn out to be a double whammy.
It’s bad enough the Flames couldn’t manage to claim two points against the struggling San Jose Sharks, falling 3-1 to a squad that was sitting second-last in the Western Conference and operating without their top two forwards.
It’s worse that Mark Giordano exited in the second period and did not return due to a lower-body issue.
“I don’t know the degree of the injury yet, but obviously you’re concerned when he didn’t come back into the game,” said Flames alternate captain Mikael Backlund after Tuesday’s loss. “Hopefully, it’s not as bad as we all may think.”
The Flames have had their share of defensive misadventures this season. Without their most reliable rearguard, they could really be in trouble.
Giordano was injured with six-plus minutes to go in Tuesday’s second period, stretching awkwardly as he tried to fire a one-timer and nearly doing the splits as he fell to the ice.
The 36-year-old was very slow to get up, although he paused to handle the puck on his way back to the bench.
At the next stoppage, he hopped the boards for a tester, skating gingerly and shaking both legs before retreating to the locker-room.
Giordano might be the last guy the Flames can do without in the race for playoff spots in the Pacific Division.
He’s averaging 24:08 per game, two-and-a-half minutes more than any of his teammates.
He’s a fixture on the top defence pairing, on the No. 1 power play alignment, and the first penalty-kill unit.
Giordano might not be in the Norris Trophy conversation this winter, but he’s still the best blueliner on his team … and it’s not close.
If the Flames fall short of a post-season invite, Tuesday’s loss will likely rank near the top of their list of regrets.
The Sharks arrived with just one win in their past six outings, floundering in 27th place in the overall standings and followed by talk of a rebuild.
On this night, Airdrie-raised Aaron Dell, delivered 30 saves and Joe Thornton celebrated a significant milestone on behalf of the visitors.
Dell, formerly of the AJHL’S Calgary Canucks, racked up 16 stops in the opening stanza, but the Flames finally solved the opposing puck-stopper early in the second frame with Elias Lindholm finding Johnny Gaudreau for a backdoor freebie on an odd-man rush.
The Sharks not only answered, but were leading just seven minutes later.
First, behemoth blueliner Brent Burns cruised to the top of the right circle and uncorked a top-shelf slapper.
Then, Barclay Goodrow teed up Evander Kane for a one-timer from the slot.
The 40-year-old Thornton collected his second assist of the evening on Kevin Labanc’s third-period marker, becoming just the 14th gent in NHL history to reach the 1,500-point plateau.