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Monahan powers Flames past Sharks in OT

Jan 18, 2015 - 7:13 AM San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Sean Monahan scored the game-winning goal 24 seconds into overtime to lift the Calgary Flames to a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

Paul Byron won a faceoff back to Mark Giordano, who skated across the blue line and backhanded a shot on net. Monahan was there in front to slip the rebound pass Antti Niemi for the win.

"Lucky enough it bounced right on my stick and I had an open net," Monahan said.

Joe Colborne tallied a goal and an assist, Dennis Wideman and Jiri Hudler also scored and Giordano supplied two assists for the Flames, who won their third straight game.

Joni Ortio made 19 saves and has now won all three of his NHL starts.

Joe Thornton, Logan Couture and Melker Karlsson all lit the lamp and Niemi stopped 19 shots for the Sharks, who had won their previous two games.

Calgary got off to a quick start as Wideman blasted a shot through the pads of a screened Niemi 40 seconds into the game.

Colborne made it a 2-0 game with a short-handed marker five minutes later. After the Sharks coughed up the puck in their own zone, Colborne took a pass from Matt Stajan, moved in alone on Niemi and cut back from his backhand to his forehand to beat the netminder.

"We got what we deserved," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said of the loss. "We're probably fortunate we got (a point). The start was unacceptable. There are nights where we don't execute. Sometimes it's half the team. Tonight it was the whole team."

San Jose used a quick goal of its own to cut the deficit in half as Couture snapped a shot home from the left circle 12 seconds into the middle frame.

Just over two minutes later, Thornton tied the game with a wrist shot on the power play and Karlsson put the Sharks ahead after he deflected Joe Pavelski's pass into the net nine minutes into the second. A video review upheld the goal as it was determined the puck went in off Karlsson's skate without a distinct kicking motion.

Calgary evened it back up at 3-3 after Mikael Backlund's shot deflected off a Sharks' skate straight to Hudler, who cut across the slot and beat Niemi's glove with a quick shot at 11:32.

Patrick Marleau had a chance to put San Jose ahead on a breakaway with 10:45 to play, but Ortio snagged his wrister to keep the game tied.

Game Notes

Thornton tied Norm Ullman for 38th on the NHL's all-time points list with 1,229 ... Calgary has won four of the last five meetings between the two teams ... The two teams will meet again on Feb. 4 in Calgary.