After a close defeat against the league’s best team in the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, the Philadelphia Flyers (16-9-3) rebounded in a big way and defeated the San Jose Sharks (14-14-3) at Xfinity Mobile Arena, 4-1, on Tuesday night.
First Period
The Flyers came out flying, carrying the pace early and generating chance after chance. Despite controlling play and outshooting San Jose 10-0 to start, it was the Sharks who struck first. At 11:33, Collin Graf buried San Jose’s first shot of the game off a feed from John Klingberg and Will Smith. Dan Vladař bit hard anticipating a Klingberg shot, leaving Graf with a wide-open net.
Philadelphia got the first power play of the night when Timothy Liljegren headed to the box, and while Noah Cates and Trevor Zegras each had strong looks, the Flyers could not convert. Moments later, though, they finally got rewarded. Christian Dvorak capitalized on a mini-breakaway, finishing off a setup from Zegras and Travis Konecny.
That assist marked Konency’s 500th career point, making him the 17th Flyer in franchise history to reach the milestone.
The Flyers completely dominated the opening 20, leading 16-3 in shots and winning 68% of their faceoffs.
Second Period
Adam Gaudette’s hooking penalty at the end of the first gave the Flyers fresh ice on a two-minute advantage, though they could not find the back of the net despite good movement.
At 3:20, Carl Grundström broke through with his first goal of the season, and his first as a Flyer, deflecting a Nick Seeler shot past Alex Nedeljkovic. Travis Sanheim picked up the secondary assist. It also marked the first fourth-line goal of the Flyers’ season, a much-needed boost from the bottom of the lineup.
San Jose earned their first power play when Konecny was called for hooking, but the Flyers’ kill stood tall. Vladař made a huge stop on Macklin Celebrini, and both Dvorak and Garnet Hathaway came up with blocks.
With just seconds left in the period, Noah Cates extended the lead off a slick pass from Bobby Brink, with Jamie Drysdale adding the secondary assist.
After two, Philadelphia held a 26-11 shot advantage. The Sharks, however, were far more physical, out-hitting the Flyers 21-10 and leading in blocks 17-7.
Third Period
The third period was relatively quiet, with Vladař turning aside several quality chances from Celebrini and Ty Dellandrea to preserve the lead. The Flyers killed off another penalty after Matvei Michkov was called for high-sticking.
San Jose pulled Nedeljkovic with nearly four minutes remaining, but it backfired. Konecny sealed the game with his eighth goal of the season, firing from the blue line for his seventh goal at home. Dvorak picked up the lone assist.
Three Stars
Third – Noah Cates
Second – Carl Grundström
First – Dan Vladař
Up Next
The Flyers host the Vegas Golden Knights at Xfinity Mobile Arena this Thursday, December 11. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm ET.
