Second periods have been cruel to the Sharks
so far this season. Not so on Sunday night in Philadelphia, where San Jose
earned a split on the 4-game road trip, beating the host Flyers 3-0 at Wells
Fargo Center. They scored a pair of goals in the middle frame, but more
importantly locking down the opposition. James Reimer made 31 saves, including
17 in the 3rd period to help the Sharks win for the second time.
The
shutout was Reimer's 26th of his career, and the first for the Sharks this
season. Reimer and then teammate Adin Hill recorded a single shutout each last
season. Reimer wasn't besieged in that final stanza, but his teammates didn't
exactly make it easy. They still allowed more shots than head coach David Quinn
would have preferred, but Reimer was up to the task.
The Flyers seem
to use the opening period to find their legs after playing in Nashville on
Saturday night. The Sharks had a shorter trip to Philadelphia, only needing to
bus from New Jersey after an afternoon game against the Devil. San Jose's best
scoring chance of the period came when Alexander Barabanov stripped Travis
Konecny and raced in uncontested, but Flyers goaltender Felix Sandstrom pushed
a shot attempt wide.
Wade Allison was whistled for hauling down Erik
Karlsson 3:20 into the 2nd period, but the Sharks did nothing with the
man-advantage. It was a textbook look at the issues with the Sharks play with
the man advantage. Slow to setup and slow moving the puck just negates any
advantage. Mario Ferraro took a tripping penalty 3 minutes later.
Philadelphia appeared to score on their power play, but the Sharks challenged
the play for offside. That turned out to be a prudent move for San Jose, as the
Flyers were ruled to be early on the play.
The negated goal turned
into a 2-goal swing when Erik Karlsson scored at 9:34, off a blast from the
right side. Tomas Hertl kept a puck alive behind the Flyers net then hit the
defenseman with a pass to the top of the right circle. Karlsson's shot beat
Flyers goaltender Felix Sandstrom low to the glove stick for his 3rd tally of
the season.
San Jose extended their lead to 2-0 with 3:31 remaining in
the period, when Steven Lorentz deflected a Jaycob Megna shot from the left
point. Lorentz was positioned just outside the left post and used a waist-high
stick blade to alter the flight path of Megna's shot for his 1st goal as a
Shark.
Another penalty by Ferraro 5:39 into the 3rd period
gave the Flyers an opportunity to cut into the Sharks lead. Reimer was the best
penalty killer on the ensuing Flyers man advantage, stopping a pair of point
blank stops to deny Philadelphia.
Morgan Frost had a breakaway chance
with 5:06 remaining in regulation, but his attempt at slipping th epuck through
Reimer's 5-hole was rejected.
Flyers head coach John Tortarella pulled
Sandstrom with 4:30 to play, down by a pair of goals. That allowed the Sharks
to score their first 3rd period goal of the season, when Nico Sturm fired the
puck home from the right point at 16:06.
Tortarella waved the white
flag after that goal, reinserting Sandstrom in net.
Game Notes:
* Nick Bonino was scratched, which came as a result of the chest
injury he suffered in New Jersey on Saturday afternoon. The veteran forward
tried jumping to grab a lofting puck, but fell awkwardly on the ice.
*
Oskar Lindblom received a nice ovation from the Wells Fargo Center crowd. The
forward spent 5 seasons in Philadelphia before leaving to join the sharks via
free agency this past summer. The Swede missed 53 games for the Flyers in 2019
after he was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.
* The
Philadelphia faithful were in a festive mood, as the Phillies won the National
League Pennant an hour or so before the start of the hockey game, across the
street from the Wells Fargo Center.
* Timo Meier continues to struggle
in the scoring department. The Sharks forward led the team with 5 shots on goal
in the game, but he failed to bag the elusive 1st goal of the season. He was
shaken up on a hit by Travis Sanheim in the 2nd period.
* San Jose
returns home to face a less-than simple schedule on SAP Center ice. They will
play Vegas, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Florida and Anaheim twice before heading back
out on the road on November 10th.
