Despite another great performance by goalie Steve Mason, the Flyers lost a tough one on Saturday afternoon to the San Jose Sharks, 3-2, in a shootout at Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers were without defenseman Mark Streit and Carlo Colaiacovo, who were scratched due to the flu. Defenseman Brandon Manning and Mark Alt were called up from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to step in this afternoon. With the Flyers scheduled promotion being "Kid's Day," calling up a couple of the kids from the Phantoms seemed fitting.
At 4:38 of the first, a failed clearing attempt by the Flyers resulted in the Sharks defenseman Matt Irwin firing a slap shot past Mason to give the Sharks the early lead.
Just two minutes later, Michael Raffl slammed home a rebound in front of Sharks goalie Alex Stalock to tie the game at one.
With the Sharks drawing a power play from a Nick Grossmann holding call, San Jose took the lead on a strange goal as Joe Pavelski fired the puck at Mason’s pads from behind the goal line.
The puck trickled though the pads just as the referee blew the whistle. At first, it appeared to be no goal, but the NHL offices in Toronto looked at it. After a brief review, they credited the goal to Pavelski to put the Sharks up, 2-1.
The Flyers were outshot 15-7 for the period and had difficulty getting out of their defensive zone at times.
The second period started with more pressure from the Sharks, but Mason kept San Jose of the board. After a Matt Nieto penalty, the Flyers new-look top power-play unit saw Ryan White take the place of the injured Wayne Simmonds.
The Flyers were unable to get the equalizer and even gave up a short-handed breakaway, but Mason once again, stood his ground and kept it a one-goal game.
The shots were tied 7-7 for the period and the Flyers looked much better with their coverage than in the first.
In the third period, the Flyers put the pressure on the Sharks, as Sean Couturier had two great chances roll off his blade in the first five minutes.
Later in the third, the Flyers drew a power play as Scott Hannan was called for hooking at the seven-minute mark. With the man advantage, captain Claude Giroux fired a wrist shot from the off wing past Stalock to give the Flyers the tying goal. Both Jake Voracek and Michael Del Zotto picked up assists on the goal at 8:37.
Both teams traded chances throughout the next eight minutes. The Flyers caught a break when Joe Thornton was called for tripping and went on the power play once again. They did have success setting up, but they weren't able to get the third goal past Stalock.
In the waning seconds, a turnover along the defensive boards nearly cost the Flyers, but the shot from the high slot sailed over the net. Shots were 39-18 for the game in favor of the Sharks as they headed to overtime.
In the overtime, the Sharks had two chances within the first 30 seconds, both denied by Mason.
At the 2:30 mark, Brayden Schenn went one-on-one down the left wing on Irwin. After a failed deke to the middle, Schenn slammed Irwin into the glass, drawing a boarding minor.
On the Sharks power play, Mason came up with three more excellent saves, keeping the Flyers in it. A last-second blast was turned away Mason, his 42nd save of the game. The game went to a shootout.
With the Flyers shooting first, Voracek beat Stalock. Logan Couture and Pavelski were stopped by Mason, while Giroux and Matt Read were stopped by Stalock. Read had a chance to win the game on his attempt.
Melker Karlsson managed to beat Mason and keep the game going.
The next three shooters each failed to score as Couturier and Vincent Lecavalier were stopped, as was Patrick Marleau. Finally, Brett Burns deked to his backhand and beat Mason to give the Sharks the shootout win.
For the game, the Flyers were outshot 44-18 and Mason was the primary reason for getting one point in a game where they were thoroughly outplayed. It seems that has been said too many time this season.
The Flyers return to the ice on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh against the Penguins. The opening face-off is set for 8 p.m.
Mike Watson is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @mwats_99.
