POSTGAME 5: Sandstrom Steals a Point in SJ

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the host San Jose Sharks, 3-2, in overtime on Thursday evening. The Flyers extended their point streak to seven straight games (5-0-2). That and the goaltending were the bright spots for Philadelphia.

On a 2-on-1 rush for San Jose, Tomas Hertl (16th goal of the season)went to the net and scored to end the game with 31 seconds left on the overtime clock. Erik Karlsson earned the lone assist.
For the second straight game, the Flyers were heavily outshot and outchanced but found a way to get the game to overtime.
Morgan Frost (2nd goal of the season) notched the game's only goal in the first period. Logan Couture (SHG, 11th) and Brent Burns (3rd) put the Sharks ahead by the 7:20 mark of the second period. In the third period, the Flyers came up with a tying goal by Joel Farabee (9th) with 4:03 left in regulation to force overtime.
Making his NHL debut, Felix Sandström was nothing short of spectacular. The 24-year-old Swede stopped 43 of 46 shots and basically stole a point for his team.
James Reimer got the win in net for the Sharks. He stopped 23 of 25 shots.
The Flyers were 4-for-4 on the penalty kill but 0-for-3 on the power play with a shorthanded goal yielded.
TURNING POINT
The Couture shorthanded goal was the jump-off point for the Sharks' dominance of most of the final 35 minutes of regulation. Farabee's latter third period goal (15:57, assisted by Oskar Lindblom and Keith Yandle) came at a time where the Flyers desperately needed something to go in their favor. Make no mistake, however, the Sharks were the better team, and deserved their eventual OT won.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) Apart from Sandström, the Flyers' best players on this night were on third line combo of Morgan Frost (four shots on goal) centering Lindblom (two shots, two assists) and Travis Konecny (one assist, three shots on goal, three hits). Frost's goal came on a nice give-and-go sequence with Konecny at 15:23 of the first period.

2) How extensively were the Flyers forced to defend -- and lean on Sandström -- on this night? They were outshot 12-7, 16-9, and 16-7 in the three regulation periods.
3) The Flyers neutral zone forecheck created a Sharks turnover that started the eventual Farabee goal sequence. Yandle started the counterattack and then Lindblom passed to Farabee. From above the top of the left circle, Farabee wristed a shot that went in seemingly off Reimer's glove.

4) On the Couture shorthanded goal sequence, Yandle was pokechecked near his own blueline and Couture soloed to beat Sandström. Burns' goal was scored off the rush. He had a wide open lane down the middle to take a feed from Hertl and wire home a shot from the deep slot.
5) Sandström had no chance of stopping Hertl from going to the net on the 2-on-1 rush led by Karlsson that ended the game. The goalie deserved a better fate.