SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Sharks winger Evander Kane loves to play against the Calgary Flames.
Kane scored twice and dropped the gloves in a third period fight with Travis Hamonic as the Sharks beat the Calgary Flames, 5-1, on Saturday afternoon at SAP Center for their seventh straight victory.
Martin Jones made 37 saves and Brenden Dillon added a Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, an assist and fight against the Flames' Garnet Hathaway late in the third period.
Jannik Hansen and Justin Braun also scored for the Sharks, who moved to within six points of the Vegas Golden Knights for first place in the Pacific Division.
Both teams have seven games remaining, as the Sharks start a four-game road trip next week.
Kane scored four goals against the Flames on March 16 when the Sharks earned a critical 7-4 win in Calgary. Since then the Sharks have reeled off five more victories to help inch closer to clinching a spot in the NHL playoffs for the third straight year.
Jones has six straight wins in the Sharks' streak, but was as busy Saturday as he had been at any time this month. He made 17 saves in the second period, including seven when the Sharks were shorthanded 5 minutes and 19 seconds.
The Sharks have not won seven straight since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, when they put together two such runs.
Five of the wins have come against Pacific Division teams, as the Sharks improved to 21-4-3 in inter-division games this season. They went 4-0 against the Flames to sweep the season series.
Although the game lacked the overall intensity of the Sharks' 2-1 overtime win over Vegas on Tuesday, it still had its chippy moments.
Kane got into a tussle with Calgary's Mikael Backlund with two minutes to go in the second period, then he and Hamonic dropped the gloves 3:15 into the third.
On Kane's short-handed goal at the 8:26 mark of the second period, Tierney took the puck on a rush up the ice and was defended by the Flames' Mark Giordano, who slid to prevent a pass to Kane. Giordano continued to slide, basically out of the way, as Tierney hit the brakes beside the Flames net and found Kane in front for a point-blank shot.
