5 Observations: Flyers Fall Flat in Loss to Sharks: JVR Injured

Shortly before the Philadelphia Flyers faced the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night, the Wells Fargo Center erupted in cheers and chants as they watched the end of the Phillies’ dramatic win over San Diego on the gigantic scoreboard.

The Phillies were headed to the World Series.

The Flyers? They had a tough act to follow, and they flopped, dropping a 3-0 decision to San Jose (2-6).

Philly, coming off an encouraging 2-1 road trip,  slipped to 4-2.

Coach John Tortorella, unhappy with Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny, did not play the forwards in the third period. The rest of the undermanned team got the message, outshooting the Sharks, 17-6, over the final 20 minutes.

Here are five quick observations:

1. It was far from an artistic matchup.

Both teams played Saturday, and it showed. Both looked sluggish. Especially the home team.

In the second period, the Flyers were outscored, 2-0, and outshot, 11-5. They had little offensive-zone time in the first 40 minutes, and were in a one-shot-and-done mode too frequently.

2. The Flyers have gotten off to a nice start despite injuries, but things will get tougher if James van Riemsdyk is sidelined for a while.

Van Riemsdyk was injured blocking a shot in the first period and did not return. The veteran left winger is off to a great start — five points (2-3) in the first five games.

Philly is already missing several key players who are injured, including Sean Couturier, Cam Atkinson, Owen Tippett, Ryan Ellis, and Rasmus Ristolainen.

The Flyers had no update on JVR’s condition after the game.

3. Talk about a change in emotions, eh?

The Flyers appeared to take a 1-0 lead as Joel Farabee finished off a slick tic-tac-toe passing play with Scott Laughton and Kevin Hayes. The power play tally was scored with 12:04 to go in the second.

Not so fast.

San Jose successfully challenged that the play was offside. Replays showed that Hayes hesitated slightly before going in the zone, and Laughton was offside to his right.

Momentum, San Jose.

The Flyers fell flat. Less than two minutes later, defenseman Erik Karlsson scored on a blast from the top of the right circle. Goalie Felix Sandstrom appeared screened on the shot.

San Jose made it 2-0 as Steven Lorentz deflected Jaycob Megna’s point drive over Sandstrom’s shoulder with 1:31 remaining in the second. The Sharks’ final tally was an empty-netter late in the third.

4. James Reimer was good when he had to be.

The San Jose goaltender wasn’t severely tested much, but he made important saves on Scott Laughton (shorthanded breakaway), Morgan Frost (twice), Ivan Provorov (nine shot attempts).

5. Nick Seeler was one of the Flyers’ most active players.

Seeler, a journeyman defenseman who helped spark the Flyers by winning a fight Saturday in Nashville, had six hits, five blocked shots, and two shots in 16:23. He and rookie Egor Zamula have been steady on the third pairing.

Breakaways

Tortorella on the loss: “Turnover. Turnovers. We have to learn how to play back-to-back games. We’ve played two sets of back-to-backs. In our second game, we absolutely don’t give ourselves a chance because of turnovers.” … Sandstrom is winless in seven career games (0-6-1) … Nick Deslauriers had four shots and six hits. … Lukas Sedlak won 7 of 9 faceoffs, and Laughton won 12 of 18. … The Flyers host Florida on Thursday.

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