Postgame RAV4: Flyers Soar Past Sharks, 4-1

The Philadelphia Flyers earned a workmanlike 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Tuesday evening. The Flyers dominated from the outset but had to remain patient before pucks started going in the net.

With the win, the Flyers improved to 16-9-3 on the season. Philly is 2-2-0 on the current four-game homestand.

The first period was lopsided in Philadelphia's favor (16-3 shot advantage). However, the Sharks led first on a Collin Graf goal (6th goal of the season). Christian Dvorak (7th) got the game tied at 1-1.

Carl Grundstrom (1st) gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead early in the second period. Late in the frame, Noah Cates (7th) opened a two-goal edge.

In the third period, the Flyers closed out the game with only a few hiccups. None were costly. Travis Konecny (8th) tacked on an empty net goal to seal the victory.

Dan Vladar earned the win with 17 saves on 18 shots. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 26 of 29 shots in a losing cause.

The Flyers went 0-for-2 on the power play. They were 2-for-2 on the penalty kill

FIRST PERIOD SYNOPSIS

The Flyers came out pressuring right away. Two shifts later, Matvei Michkov was stopped on a breakaway five-hole attempt.

Through 3:21, shots on goal were 5-0 Flyers. On the next shift, Tyler Toffoli had a slot attempt blocked.

Michkov created a nice play at the blueline to open a lane. Through 7:15, shots on goal were 8-0.’ At 9:42, Brink tipped a point shot on net. By 10:21, shots were 10-0 (San Jose had a shot attempt go off the post) but the game remained scoreless.

Almost predictably, San Jose scored on their first shot of the game at 11:33. Graf had half an open net, and scored from the left slot. The assists went to John Klingberg and Will Smith. The Flyers were caught puck watching and the coverage disintegrated.

At 16:10, the Flyers went to the game's first power play. Timothy Liljegren went off for holding. Philly did not score.

Dvorak tied the score at 1-1 with a backhand goal one-on-one with Nedeljokic at 18:39 on what initially looked like a broken play before Dvorak played right on through. The assists went to Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny. For Konecny, it was his 500th NHL point.

A delayed penalty on the Sharks' Adam Gaudette carried over into a two-minute power play to begin the second period. Time of the penalty, officially, was the 20-minute mark.

Shots: Flyers 16 - Sharks 3
Faceoffs; Flyers 13 - Sharks 6

Notable:

• Dvorak had four of Philly's 16 shots on goal. He also went 6-for-6 on faceoffs.
• Michkov had strong jump in his skates all period. He made several plays and also attempted three shots (one on goal, one blocked and one that missed the net.
• Zegras had three shots on goal.

SECOND PERIOD SYNOPSIS

With 42 seconds left on the carryover power play, Zegras nearly snuck a shot in the short side. The Flyers had three shots overall on the 5-on-4. The score remained tied at 1-1.

The Flyers grabbed a 2-1 lead at 3:20. Scoring his first Flyers goal in his second game with the team, former San Jose forward Grundstrom deflected a Nick Seeler shot into the net for a goal by the fourth line. The assists went to Seeler and Travis Sanheim.

Through a timeout at 5:47, second period shots on goal were 5-2 in the Flyers' favor (21-6 for the game to that point).

San Jose went to their first power play at 8:56. Konecny went off for hooking. With 15 seconds left on the kill, Garnet Hathaway sacrificed his body to (painfully) block a shot out of play. San Jose had two shots during the 5-on-4.

Play moved back the other way, Cates scored between the pads from the left circle. The assists went to Brink and Jamie Drysdale at 19:49.

Shots: Flyers 10 (26 overall) - Sharks 8 (11 overall)
Faceoffs; Flyers 11 (24 overall) - Sharks 7 (13 overall)

Notable:

• Dvorak was 10-for-13 on faceoffs through two periods.
• The Flyers' puck pressure produced 11 Sharks' turnovers through two periods.

THIRD PERIOD SYNOPSIS

The Flyers got a bit hemmed in early in the period but kept the play mostly to the outside. Philly iced the puck at 5:05. On the next shift, Ty Delandrea was stopped from point blank range.

Through 8:21 shots on goal were 3-0 Sharks. The Flyers' fourth line generated a stabilizing shift. The Dvorak line attacked on the next shift. Through 11:02, shots for the third period were 3-1 San Jose.

At 11:57, Michkov was called for a high-sticking minor behind the Sharks' net. San Jose went to their second power play. The Flyers staged a strong kill.

The Sharks pulled Nedeljkovic for a 6-on-5 with 3:51 left in the period. Konecny added an empty net goal from the attack blueline at 18:17. The lone assist went to Dvorak.

Shots: Flyers 4 (30 overall) - Sharks 7 (18 overall)
Faceoffs; Flyers 10 (24 34 overall) - Sharks 4 (17 overall)

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Trevor Zegras- Christian Dvorak – Travis Konecny
Matvei Michkov – Sean Couturier – Owen Tippett
Nikita Grebenkin – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Carl Grundstrom – Rodrigo Abols – Garnet Hathaway

Nick Seeler – Travis Sanheim
Emil Andrae – Jamie Drysdale
Ty Murchison - Noah Juulsen

Dan Vladar
[Samuel Ersson]

Postgame RAV4 (RAV4 Things Revisited)

1. Celebrini and Michkov

Neither second year player recorded a point in this game. Celebrini had two shots on goal in 19:42 of ice time and was just 4-for-16 on faceoffs. Michkov skated 12:26. He missed the start of the second period but returned about five minutes into the frame.

2. Pucks and traffic to the net

The Flyers did this in textbook fashion in the first and second periods. Additionally, the Flyers established their forecheck right from the outset.

3. Between the pipes

Vladar wasn't tested often in the game, but had to come up big several times in key spots. A goal in any of those situations might have changed the complexion of the game.

4. Murchison's NHL debut

Rookie defenseman Ty Murchison dished out three hits and blocked a shot in 14:14 of ice time. He functioned well with veteran partner Noah Juulsen. Murchison even played 60 seconds on the penalty kill in his debut.