Tomas Hertl scores in OT as Sharks (mostly) get back to familiar identity
SAN JOSE – No one recognized the brand of hockey the Sharks played earlier this week against the Arizona Coyotes. It was far too loose and much too run-and-gun for a team that needs to play with structure and a certain workmanlike identity.
Thursday’s game looked a little more familiar to all involved, right down to the white-knuckle finish.
Tomas Hertl scored at the 4:29 mark of overtime off a pass from Erik Karlsson to give the Sharks a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at SAP Center.
The Sharks got second-period goals from Logan Couture and Brent Burns and a solid performance from James Reimer, who made 23 saves, to close out the 2021 calendar year on a positive note.
“I think we played way better,” said Hertl, who is on a career-best eight-game point streak. “We were way better in details and the D-zone, and we even got more chances than last game. It was a good game.”
The Sharks led 2-1 in the third period before a neutral zone turnover by Timo Meier turned into a Joel Farabee goal with 4:03 left in the third period. Farabee took a pass from Oskar Lindblom and beat Reimer with a glove-side wrist shot.
Sharks coach Bob Boughner was not pleased with Meier’s gaffe and did not allow him or Jonathan Dahlen, who was also on the ice for Farabee’s goal, to take a shift for the 3-on-3 overtime.
“Timo’s been one of our best players all year and you’ve got to hold everyone to the same standard and hold everybody accountable,” Boughner said. “Especially after the last game and what we talked about – mismanaging pucks and not getting them deep, managing the clock and the score of the game.”
Jake Middleton assisted on Couture and Burns’ goals for his first two-point game in the NHL and Reimer, two nights after he allowed seven goals on 46 shots, made 21 saves in regulation time as the Sharks moved to within one point of the Edmonton Oilers for the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
The Sharks open a four-game road trip against Eastern Conference teams on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
“It’s a long time to sit around during a 10-day break,” Boughner said. “We know we have a tough road trip, but we want to stay in this. Claw back, and we’re right there.”
The Sharks outshot the Flyers 44-23 through three periods.
The Sharks beat the Coyotes 8-7 in a shootout on Tuesday, blowing three separate two-goal leads – including one in the final five minutes of regulation time before Couture and Hertl scored in the skills competition to secure the two points.
The Sharks were abysmal in their own end against the worst team in the NHL and coach Bob Boughner noted the next day that by his stats, the Sharks had a season-high 39 turnovers.
Getting back to basics and cleaning up some of those mistakes was priority No. 1 against a Flyers team that came into Thursday 25th in the league in scoring at 2.67 goals per game.
Losing Mario Ferraro made that more difficult.
Sharks winger Jonathan Dahlen was removed from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol on Thursday at the same time that defenseman Ferraro was added. Dahlen was added to the protocol on Dec. 21, the same day that Tomas Hertl tested positive, and missed Tuesday’s game with the Arizona Coyotes.
Dahlen has eight goals and six assists in 26 games for the Sharks this season and started Thursday’s game on a line with Hertl and Noah Gregor.
The loss of Ferraro is potentially huge.
Ferraro is second among all Sharks skaters in average time on ice with 24:02 per game and Thursday’s game was the first he’s missed since the 2019-2020 season. It was not immediately known if Ferraro is symptomatic with COVID.
Ferraro is also the NHL’s leader in blocked shots and 93 and is the Sharks’ leading penalty kill, averaging 2:33 of ice time shorthanded per game. Ferraro is third among all Sharks defensemen with 10 points.
The Flyers started rookie Felix Sandstrom in net Thursday instead of longtime Sharks goalie Martin Jones. Sandstrom was terrific, making 43 saves for a tired Flyers team that played Wednesday night in Seattle and didn’t get to its San Jose hotel until 4:30 a.m. on Thursday.
“We don’t want to put Jonesy in a tough spot,” Flyers interim coach Mike Yeo said before the game. “Would have liked for him to be able to play against his former team. Given the workload, I think it’s wise to put a fresh body in there tonight.”
Jones, the second-winningest goalie in Sharks history, returned to San Jose for the first time Thursday with Philadelphia. He signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Flyers on July 28, shortly after the Sharks bought out the remainder of his six-year, $34.5 contract he signed with the team in 2017 after two disappointing seasons.
Jones was acknowledged with a video tribute in the first period.
