San Jose scores early, often in rout of Flyers
PHILADELPHIA — The Sharks went from shut out to blowout in a little more than 24 hours.
Joe Pavelski scored two of San Jose’s four first-period goals, and Evander Kane also scored twice to spark the Sharks to an 8-2 rout of the Flyers on Tuesday night.
Flyers fans were still buzzing from the pregame festivities for the home opener, which included rookie mascot Gritty rappelling from the rafters to the ice, when the Sharks pounced.
The Flyers turned over the puck at the point, Logan Couture beat the odd-man rush and fired his first goal of the season past Brian Elliott. Pavelski made it 2-0 just 11 seconds later when he knocked in a rebound for his first goal of the season.
The Sharks, a Stanley Cup favorite, were just warming up. They had five goals in their first three games — including a 4-0 loss to the Islanders on Monday afternoon — and then scored five goals through two periods.
“It’s good to see us come out, 60-minute game, get a little confidence,” Pavelski said. “Guys had some chances, saw some guys score some goals. That goes a long way, getting one early and get going.”
With the Flyers set to play Wednesday at Ottawa, Elliott stayed in net despite the miserable performance in front of him. He faced 31 shots — 31! — over the first two periods.
Head coach Dave Hakstol said he should have benched Elliott, who faced 48 shots, after the second period.
“We left him out to dry. He’s our best player tonight,” Philadelphia defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. “It could have been 8-0 after the first. It’s a little ridiculous. Some of us really got to look in the mirror on this team.”
San Jose got some help late in the first when replay officials in New York awarded Pavelski his second goal for a 3-0 lead. The puck was in play when Elliott cleared Pavelski’s shot until a whistle stopped the action. Sure enough, the review showed Elliott’s glove was behind the line when he swatted Pavelski’s puck and the no-goal was overturned.
“Anytime the game kind of gets out of hand like that, it’s easy to relax. That’s when bad things can happen,” Kane said. Not against the Flyers. Kane redirected a puck off his skate late in the first to make it 4-0. It was San Jose’s first power-play goal of the season after a 0-for-12 start.
Gostisbehere and Wayne Simmonds scored for the Flyers.