CALGARY Custom Buffalo Sabres Jerseys , Alberta — Erik Karlsson made a huge impact upon his return to the lineup for the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.The 28-year-old defenseman from Landsbro, Sweden, would like nothing more than to carry his momentum into New Year’s Eve when his Sharks (21-12-7) take on the Calgary Flames (23-12-4) in a battle of the top two teams in the Pacific Division at the Scotiabank Saddledome.“We have a tough stretch coming up here the next few games,” said Karlsson after tallying a goal and three assists to help lead the Sharks to a 7-4 road victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. “We’re going to have to play at the top of our level to be able to compete with the teams that we’re playing.Article continues below ...“Now, we’ve just got to go into Calgary and have the mentality that we’re going to win that game, too www.officialflames.com , and play to the best of our ability and clean some things up from (Saturday) and take the good things with us.”Karlsson sat out San Jose’s previous two games as a result of being suspended for an illegal check to the head of Los Angeles Kings forward Austin Wagner in the second period of a 3-2 overtime loss at home on Dec. 22.“It’s nice to be back,” said Karlsson, who has put up three goals and 27 assists in 30 games with the Sharks this season after playing his first nine NHL campaigns with the Ottawa Senators. “It’s never fun to be out of the lineup, especially for the reason that I was out for. Sometimes it’s good to watch the games from afar, too. You figure a few things out. I was excited to get back (in the lineup) and I did everything I can to stay in it.”San Jose coach Peter DeBoer was also happy to have Karlsson back on the blue line for the Sharks.“You can see his impact on the game, on our team Calgary Flames T-Shirts Authentic , on the players around him,” DeBoer said. “You take him for granted a little bit. When he’s out, you realize the hole there is there. Every week he’s getting more comfortable here.”Meanwhile, the Flames will be looking to bounce back following a 3-2 overtime setback at home to the surging Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, two days following a 4-1 road win over the Winnipeg Jets.“I thought we faded a little bit as the game went along, didn’t have the same jump Calgary Flames Hoodies Authentic , but we skated much better here tonight than we did in Winnipeg and I expect us to skate a lot better Monday, too,” Calgary coach Bill Peters said following the OT loss to the Canucks.Despite the loss, the Flames still sit tied atop the Western Conference standings at 50 points with the Jets (24-12-2), who have a game in hand.“We’ve played a lot of good hockey this year, but there’s a long way to go and as a group we feel like we’ve let it slip over the last few games Calgary Flames Hats Authentic ,” Calgary captain Mark Giordano told the team website. “We’ve got to get back to details, be a lot sharper on the defensive side of things and we’ll be fine.“We’ve put ourselves in good position. Now, we either let the pack make up ground and catch us over the next 20 or we ramp up, take off and solidify what we’ve worked for to get to this point. We’re looking to solidify — to take off.” ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Boyle made 35 saves in his first career start and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Vancouver Canucks 1-0 Wednesday night in general manager Bob Murray’s first game as interim coach.Jakob Silfverberg scored to help the Ducks end a seven-game losing streak, a skid which prompted Murray to fire coach Randy Carlyle on Sunday and take over for the rest of the season.Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves for the Canucks Custom Calgary Flames Jerseys , who have lost four straight road games.The 64-year-old Murray had never coached professionally at any level but got the response he had been looking for, with Silfverberg scoring 6:30 into the first period to give the Ducks their first lead since getting the opening goal in a 5-1 loss at St. Louis on Jan. 23.PENGUINS 3, OILERS 1PITTSBURGH (AP) — Matt Murray robbed Connor McDavid on a penalty shot for one of his 38 saves as Pittsburgh beat struggling Edmonton.Bryan Rust, Teddy Blueger and Jared McCann all scored as Pittsburgh picked up two vital points despite playing without suspended center Evgeni Malkin, forced to sit while serving a one-game suspension for an illegal high stick. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby finished with one assist and spent large portions of the night going head to head with McDavid.McDavid picked up an assist on Leon Draisaitl’s first-period goal but was otherwise held in check. Mikko Koskinen stopped 31 shots for the Oilers but couldn’t stop Edmonton from falling for the eighth time in nine games.