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Sharks-Flames Preview

Oct 24, 2010 - 6:24 AM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

San Jose (3-2-1) at Calgary (4-3-0), 8:00 p.m. EDT

With help from Joe Pavelski, the San Jose Sharks have regained their scoring touch while on the road.

Pavelski and the Sharks will try to keep rolling and finish unbeaten on their three-game trip Sunday night against the Calgary Flames.

After finishing fourth in the league with 257 goals in 2009-10, San Jose scored only nine times during its 1-2-1 start to this season. The Sharks have exceeded that output while winning the first two games of their trip.

Pavelski scored twice to lead the Sharks to a 4-2 victory Thursday against Colorado, then had one of six unanswered goals in Saturday's 6-1 rout in Edmonton.

After San Jose gave up the opening score 1:22 into the game against the Oilers, Pavelski assisted on Dany Heatley's tying tally later in the first period. He also fed Ryane Clowe in the third, giving him three goals and two assists on the trip.

Joe Thornton added three assists after totaling four points in the season's first five games.

The victory over Edmonton gave the Sharks (3-2-1) their first 3-0 start on the road since joining the league in 1991. San Jose, which was designated as the road team for its Oct. 8 season opener against Columbus in Stockholm, is only now getting back into a normal schedule, according to coach Todd McLellan.

"Players have an innate rhythm in them during the winter," McLellan said. "As a team we haven't been able to do that. After (Sunday) we will have played four games in six nights and have established that rhythm and that routine and it will certainly help us."

San Jose will try to continue its unbeaten run against a Flames team that's returning for five straight home games after its own successful trip. Calgary (4-3-0) won two of three while it was away, and scored a season high for goals in the finale of the trip, a 6-2 win over Columbus on Friday.

Rene Bourque had a hat trick and an assist, and Henrik Karlsson made 20 saves against the Blue Jackets in his NHL debut.

"I was just fortunate to get a couple of good passes," Bourque said

The Flames will likely turn again to starting goalie Miikka Kiprusoff in this game. Kiprusoff shut out Nashville to open the three-game trip Tuesday but gave up two third-period goals in a 4-2 loss in Detroit on Thursday.

Kiprusoff is 7-4-0 with a 2.56 goals-against average at home against San Jose, where he played his first three NHL seasons as a backup from 2000-03.

After Antti Niemi gave up a career high-tying five goals in a home loss to Carolina on Tuesday, Antero Niittymaki has started the past two games for San Jose. This may be a prime opportunity for Niemi to bounce back. He was 3-0-0 with a 1.39 GAA against the Flames last season while with Chicago.

Niittymaki is 2-1-0 with a 2.04 GAA in his three career starts versus Calgary.

The Sharks and Flames split four matchups last season and have also split their last eight meetings at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The last three matchups in Calgary have each been decided by one goal.

San Jose's Patrick Marleau needs one point for 700 in his career.