PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Travis Konecny got his 500th NHL point and Dan Vladar only had to make 17 saves as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 on Tuesday night.
Konecny helped tie the game at 1-1 late in the first period when he backhanded a lofty puck into the neutral zone. Christian Dvorak found it and promptly deked to his back hand for an easy score with 1:21 to play in the period.
The assist was Konecny’s 500th career point. He added an empty-net goal with 1:43 left to play.
Vladar, a career backup with Boston and Calgary before signing with the Flyers in the offseason, was busy late when San Jose pulled goalie Alex Nedeljkovic with just under four minutes left.
The Sharks scored first when Collin Graf drilled home a cross-slot pass from John Klingberg 11:33 into the game.
Carl Grundstrom, recalled from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley recently to replace the injured Tyson Foerster, tipped home a long-distance wrist shot by defender Nick Seeler to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead at the 3:20 mark of the second period.
With 11 seconds remaining in the period, Noah Cates took a pass from Bobby Brink and wristed it past Nedeljkovic for a 3-1 lead.
Nedeljkovic, who finished with 26 saves, was in net because Yaroslav Askarov was ill. He was expected to at least back up Tuesday but was a late scratch, and the Sharks signed Justin Kowalkoski, a 39-year-old geologist 17 years removed from a hockey career at Colgate, to a one-game amateur contract as an emergency backup.
Up next
Sharks: Their road trip continues Thursday night in Toronto.
Flyers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
