PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers outshot, outchanced, and outplayed the San Jose Sharks tonight at the Wells Fargo Center. They just couldn’t outscore them.
After surviving a Sharks power play at the start of the overtime session, a miscommunication between Michael Del Zotto and Claude Giroux in the offensive zone sent San Jose on an odd-man rush. Melker Karlsson was able to beat Flyers goalie Steve Mason on the ensuing play to give the Sharks a 1-0 victory.
The Flyers got out to a sloppy start, generating not a single shot attempt through the first six minutes of the game as they were overwhelmed by the Sharks’ forechecking. They weathered the storm with the help of Mason’s big save -none better than a sliding glove stop on Justin Braun.
Only the play of their goaltender and a predictably exciting performance from young Shayne Gostisbehere kept the period from complete mediocrity. Still, the Sharks were unable to capitalize on their solid play, and the game stayed scoreless after one period.
The outcome was the same in the second period, but the ice was tilted in the opposite direction. This time, it was the Flyers on the prowl, winning puck battles and peppering Sharks goalie Martin Jones with shots.
San Jose went through a 12:57 minute stretch without a shot on goal, and the vaunted Joe Pavelski-Joe Thornton pairing was held in check by Sean Couturier and his linemates. But like the Sharks in the first, the Flyers could not take advantage of their territorial dominance, and the game remained 0-0 after forty minutes of play.
Philadelphia carried over their strong play into the final stanza. They held San Jose to only four shots, and smothered them on two power play chances. Jakub Voracek nearly gave the Flyers the lead late in the contest, but he could not bury a slick pass from Brayden Schenn.
The game appeared destined for overtime, but a late questionable penalty on Wayne Simmonds added drama late. The Sharks power play carried over to the extra session, but Philadelphia killed the penalty with ease, leading to Karlsson’s late heroics.
Comment of the Night
good game, poop ending
>> JonnyK
