Maybe his players weren’t prepared to barnstorm at the level required on the ice. But a distinctly dissatisfied Brent Sutter didn’t mind crashing the net with calculated abandon in the Ed Whalen Media Lounge afterwards.

“We weren’t good enough tonight,’’ he confessed with flat finality, the lack of zeal displayed in Tuesday’s 1-0 loss still gnawing at his innards like a five-alarm chili smothered in Tabasco.

“You play a second period like THAT? At THIS time of the year?

“We’re a team fighting to get into a playoff spot. You cannot have a second period like we played — we played the whole period in our own zone. For me it was disappointing. I was disappointed how we played here tonight, frankly . . . to be quite honest about it.

“It’s a 0-0 hockey game going into the third — you (should) find a way to win, even though you haven’t played very well up to that point.”

Facing a team in the throes of its seventh game in 11 nights and limping in on the back end of an Alberta twin bill, having lost a cornerstone defenceman to injury 24 hours earlier, the Calgary Flames required in excess of nine minutes to test San Jose Sharks’ goaltender Antti Niemi with an official shot on goal in the first period.

Nearly 11 minutes to register one through an impotent three-shot second (and that, an unscreened, long-range Jay Bouwmeester effort that Niemi could’ve caught blindfolded, in his teeth, if need be).

That’s what you call coming out and setting the guidelines, boys.

“Our top two forwards lines weren’t very good,’’ continued a dejected Sutter, unabated. “When one line has three shots on net between the three of them and they end up being a minus . . . And the other line? Everything was perimeter. Our top lines have got to play well.

“For whatever reason, they never had it tonight.”

No, they didn’t. Empty vessels, one and all.

Jarome Iginla, one shot.

Michael Cammalleri, one shot.

Mikael Backlund, one shot.

The Sharks, to their credit, hung tough and counter-punched well enough until the opening arrived to at least land a telling punch. They showed few flashes of the supremely gifted assemblage they’re capable of being, and Ryane Clowe’s destructive presence was sorely missed, but they found a way to end a three-game losing skid.

“We’ve played in our last eight games a lot of one-goal, 2-1 type games,’’ said San Jose coach Todd McLellan. “The defensive part of our game, we’ve been really happy with, finding on some nights enough offence to win with. Tonight was one of them.

“We leave on a three-game road trip, only give up five goals and go home .500. So we’ve got to find some scoring, get a little hungrier in and around the net.

“Much like the winning goal tonight.’’

On that decisive shot to Calgary’s solar plexis, delivered at 11:35 of the closing stanza, Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff flicked a pad at Dan Boyle’s initial shot, then managed to get a piece of Logan Couture’s followup try, the puck cartwheeling through the air. There, an alert Benn Ferriero — bearing down the way the locals should’ve, and didn’t, on their best opportunities — gloved it down and slotted into an empty net.

“We’ve talked a lot about assertiveness of late,’’ grumbled Cammalleri. “It’s the National Hockey League, so you have to give credit to the other team. At the same time, we’d like to make it harder on our opponents.

“Not good enough.’’

No. Not near.

Niemi was solid, if hardly otherworldly. His best stop came at the expense of the returning Alex Tanguay, a clearance setting the slick left-winger off on a breakaway, Niemi managing to get a glove/arm on his backhand attempt.

In the aftermath, the Flames were being harder on themselves than they’d been on the Sharks through 60 minutes.

“Our second period,’’ confessed captain Iginla, “just wasn’t good enough. We were lucky to be 0-0 going into the third.

“We had some chances in the first and third — I thought in the last period we were going to find a way to get that one goal — but when you play a second period like we did, you don’t feel you necessarily deserve to win a close one.

“I don’t think we competed hard enough offensively.’’

That, given the increasingly claustrophobic confines in and around the final playoff spots in the West, is a rather sobering admission.

Conference rivals Nashville, Dallas, Phoenix, Vancouver and Minnesota all posted wins Tuesday evening. The fast-tracking St. Louis Blues arm-wrestled a tough point off Evgeni Malkin and the Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins.

So the Flames actually gave up ground.

“There’ll all (losses) tough this time of year,’’ said Iginla quietly. “We’d love to close the gap. You always want to go into the all-star break on a high, feeling good about yourself.

“We didn’t do it.

“We definitely have work ahead of us.’’