SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Sharks rallied for two goals in the third period and salvaged two points against one of the worst road teams in the NHL, beating the Calgary Flames, 2-1, on Friday night at HP Pavilion.

San Jose got the decisive goal after TJ Galiardi won a battle for the puck along the boards and brought it out in front of the Flames net. With Brent Burns fighting for position, the puck squirted loose to Joe Pavelski, who buried it behind Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff to give the Sharks the lead with 2:06 left in the third period.

The Sharks held on from there, winning their seventh straight game and moving into sole possession of fourth place in the Western Conference.

The Sharks largely dominated the third period and tied the game 1-1 as Dan Boyle took a pass from Logan Couture in the middle of the ice and beat Kiprusoff with a wrist shot from between the circles with 17:20 left.

The Sharks were looking to avoid what would have been an embarrassing loss, considering the Flames might have been the worst team left on their schedule. Calgary entered the game 14th in the Western Conference, which included a 3-11-2 record away from home, and was just days removed from dealing veterans Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester for prospects and draft picks.

The Sharks had several scoring chances in the first period and finished with 17 shots but were turned away by Kiprusoff every time. Kiprusoff's performance kept the game scoreless until the 17:55 mark of the first period, when Mikael Backlund's wrist shot went right through Sharks goalie Antti Niemi's legs to give the Flames a 1-0 lead. It was the first power-play goal the Sharks had allowed since Minnesota scored with the man advantage in a 2-0 Wild win on March 23, San Jose's last defeat.

- Sharks fans did not have the opportunity to greet former nemesis Raffi Torres on Friday night. Not wanting to alter the chemistry his team has found in the last two weeks, coach Todd McLellan opted to hold Torres - acquired Wednesday from Phoenix for a third-round pick in this year's NHL entry draft - out of the lineup.

McLellan said Torres was under the weather Thursday night, which played a role in his decision. Torres felt better Friday morning as he met with reporters after the team's skate at HP Pavilion, and said he was fine with not rushing into the Sharks' lineup.

"This team's winning right now, and that's all that matters," Torres said. "I wouldn't want to mess with that kind of lineup."

- Scott Hannan, San Jose's other acquisition Wednesday, appears to be several days away from skating with the team. Hannan, who played eight seasons for the Sharks before he left as a free agent after the 2006-07 season, has an upper body injury and has not played since March 17.

- Defenseman Jason Demers missed his fourth consecutive game with a head injury. Demers said Thursday he was feeling fine and was ready to go, but McLellan indicated Thursday that he'd like Demers to participate in a full practice before he rejoined the lineup. The earliest that would happen is Saturday.

- The Sharks signed two players who just finished their senior seasons in college. Eriah Hayes, who attended Minnesota State in Mankato, signed a two-year, two-way deal. As a senior, the 24-year-old Hayes had 20 goals and 16 assists in 41 games. He has been assigned to Worcester. Free-agent forward Rylan Schwartz, 23, was signed to an entry-level contract. He led all NCAA scorers this season with 53 points in 41 games at Colorado College.

- The Sharks also signed Union College junior goaltender Troy Grosenick, according to multiple reports. Grosenick posted a 17-10-5 record this season with a 2.12 goals-against average.

• Read more articles by CURTIS PASHELKA

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