Three weeks ago, before the Flyers faced the Chicago Blackhawks, head coach John Tortorella expressed the fear of facing an opponent at the bottom of the standings. That served as a potential trap game, and while the Flyers didn’t have their best, they managed a win.
The script was very similar on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center as the Flyers faced the San Jose Sharks, without Tortorella on the bench for the first game of his two-game suspension. It wasn’t pretty, but the Flyers got the two points they needed, securing a 3-2 win over the Sharks.
The Flyers got on the board first at 3:29. Joel Farabee was ahead of the field and Morgan Frost connected with him on a saucer pass from his own zone. Farabee fired the shot past Magnus Chrona for his 19th goal of the season.
For the rest of the period, the Flyers had a few chances, but the Sharks controlled the play. On their second power play of the period, San Jose tied the game in the final minute of the period. Filip Zadina was left alone behind the defense and went to the backhand to beat Sam Ersson and make it 1-1 with 40.3 seconds remaining.
Through 20 minutes, shots were 11-10 Flyers.
The Flyers regained the lead midway through the second period. On a power play, a blocked shot taken by Travis Konecny bounced right to Frost, who buried it for his 10th of the season at 9:20.
The parade to the penalty box continued for the Flyers over the next few minutes, and with seven seconds remaining on a man-advantage, the Sharks tied the game again. Zadina was left alone at the front of the net for an easy tap-in, making it 2-2 at 13:34.
Through two periods, shots were 28-21 Flyers.
The Flyers got the lead again at 5:09. On a delayed penalty call, Konecny showcased great vision, spotting Owen Tippett on the backdoor and threading the needle. Tippett’s 23rd goal of the season made it 3-2.
That goal proved to be the difference, as Ersson and the Flyers held the Sharks off the board the rest of the way.
Ersson finished the game with 27 saves on 29 shots. Chrona made 38 saves on 41 shots.
Frost, Konecny, and Cam York each had two-point games for the Flyers. Luke Kunin had two assists for the Sharks.
The Flyers are back on the ice on Thursday night to host the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:30 p.m.
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
| Sharks | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Flyers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- PHI Joel Farabee (19) (Morgan Frost) 3:29
- SJ Filip Zadina (11) (Luke Kunin, Alexander Barabanov) 19:19
2nd Period
- PHI Frost (10) PP (Travis Konecny, Cam York) 9:20
- SJ Zadina (12) PP (Kunin, Klim Kostin) 13:34
3rd Period
- PHI Owen Tippett (23) (Konecny, York) 5:09
Game Statistics
| Sharks | Flyers | |
| Shots | 29 | 41 |
| Power Play | 2/5 | 1/4 |
| Hits | 23 | 28 |
| Faceoff % | 33% | 67% |
| Giveaways | 1 | 6 |
| Takeaways | 4 | 7 |
| Blocked Shots | 11 | 12 |
| Penalty Minutes | 10 | 12 |
