Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Flyers Sharks opened the second half of the six game Philadelphia homestand. Dan Vladar returned to the Flyers net for the 1st time since giving up five goals to the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers soundly defeat the San Jose Sharks 4-1. Matvei Michkov turns 21. And the Metropolitan Division standings somehow manage to get even tighter.
Philly vs San Jose
As soon as this game got underway the freshly of age Matvei Michkov found himself in all alone on a breakaway. Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic played the angle perfectly and stopped the first of many dangerous Flyers opportunities.
San Jose did not get their 1st shot on goal until 8:27 into the contest. …It went in. Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar, who has been a rising star all season long between the pipes, got his first start since allowing five goals against the visiting Penguins on December 1st. Samuel Ersson played the duration of the last two games in the Flyers net. This was Vladar’s chance to bounce back.
This was one heck of a first shot to be sure. A tic-tac-toe passing play that left Vladar totally committed to the right post as Collin Graf had all day and a ton of net to shoot at giving the Sharks the early lead 1-0. The Flyers were outshooting the Sharks 10-1 at that point.
Much to his credit Vladar pulled it together and did not allow another goal for the rest of the night.
With just 1:21 left to play in the opening period Travis Konecny threaded a pass to Trevor Zegras. Zegras sprung Christian Dvorak into the San Jose zone on a breakaway. Dvorak had to use his speed to stay a step ahead of the trailing Sharks who were in hot pursuit. Dvorak stayed composed. He went forehand to backhand beating the netminder and sending this game into the 1st intermission tied at one.
2nd Period
With Tyson Foerster out for the foreseeable future Carl Grundstrom was called up from Lehigh Valley to play in tonight’s game. He played a solid game, did not look at all out of place, and 3:20 into the 2nd period he scored his 1st goal as a Philadelphia Flyer.
Nick Seeler fired a shot from the point. Grundstrom deflected it and the puck knuckled its way into the far side of the net to put the Flyers ahead 2-1. With Cam York also out with an injury Ty Murchison made his debut with the team and had a strong defensive game.
The Flyers were outshooting the Sharks 26-11 by the end of the 2nd period. They also looked like they were having a good time playing the sport. We are getting to see the Flyers play with the lead from time to time this season which is not real familiar territory. The final three minutes of the middle period were a joy to watch.
With just 11.8 seconds left after controlling the play it was Bobby Brink carrying into the Sharks zone and passing to Noah Cates. Cates fired a wrist shot from the slot beating Nedeljkovic and sending the teams into the 2nd intermission with the Flyers leading 3-1.
3rd Period
Although the Flyers outshot the Sharks 30 to 18 in this game Dan Vladar deserves a lot of the credit for this decisive win. What San Jose lacked in quantity they made up for in the quality of their chances. Vladar had to make several challenging saves and after that 1st goal he was totally dialed in all night long.
The Flyers also crushed it in the faceoff department going 66.7%. Christian Dvorak won 14 of 17. Coots won 9 of 15. Owen Tippett went 2 for 2.
Travis Konecny scored the final goal of the night into the empty net. TK attempted a pass to Trevor Zegras at the San Jose blue line. The puck hit a Shark shin pad and came right back to Konecny who fired at the empty net from just inside the zone while Zegras struggled to stay onside. The Orange and Black are back on track. Flyers win 4-1.
Extra Credit: Travis Konecny’s assist on the Dvorak goal marked his 500th career NHL point.
Next up: Flyers host the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday night. Puck drops at 7:00 PM.
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