The San Jose Sharks fought all the way back to tie their game with the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday after falling behind by three goals early in the second period.
The only thing the Sharks were missing was a finishing touch.
Barclay Goodrow tied the game with a goal at the 17:36 mark of the third period, but the Sharks could not score in overtime despite having a power play. They also could not beat goalie Samuel Ersson in the shootout in a 4-3 loss to the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center.
Defenseman Jack Thompson and center Mikael Granlund also scored for the Sharks, who salvaged a point with the comeback and now own a 5-2-1 record since a 0-7-2 start to the season.
The Sharks trailed 3-0 early before William Eklund spearheaded a comeback, assisting on the goals by Thompson and Granlund with less than five minutes to go in the second period.
Goodrow then tied the game late in the third. A pass from Henry Thrun from inside the blue line was redirected right to Goodrow, who fought off a check and scored from beside the Flyers’ net.
After overtime, the Sharks could not score in the shootout, as Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith failed to convert their opportunities. Matvei Michkov and Travis Konecny each beat Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek with their shootout chances.
Goodrow’s fight against Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler at the 12:09 mark of the second period seemed to spark the Sharks, who also played Sunday in New Jersey and didn’t look as engaged as they needed to be through the first half of the game.
“We just couldn’t get into the game,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We had some pushes at times, we did some good things at times, but just couldn’t play with that same energy and competitiveness as (Sunday) night.”
Still, the Sharks trailed only 3-2 before the third period, thanks to some inspired play from Eklund and his line.
The Sharks gave up goals to Erik Johnson and Konecny in the first period and a breakaway goal to Michkov at the 5:09 mark of the second period to fall behind 3-0.
On the third goal, Smith turned the puck over along the boards inside the Flyers’ zone, and two passes later, Michkov, who had split the Sharks’ defense, was in alone on Vanecek before he scored his fifth of the season.
“You don’t want to dig yourself a hole like that to begin with,” Goodrow said. “But once we were there, I thought we fought hard to get it back. Obviously, we would have liked that extra point, but no, I think we did a good job of getting into overtime.”
Thompson’s goal came at the 15:29 mark of the second period, as he joined the rush and redirected a centering pass from Eklund past Ersson to cut the deficit to 3-1.
About three minutes later, Eklund kept moving his feet and carried the puck behind the net before passing to Granlund, who fired it high short side past Ersson to cut the lead to 3-2.
“You look at (Eklund), he’s really getting in on the forecheck and being the first guy down low,” Granlund said. “He’s on top of his skating right now.”
It wasn’t publicly known until close to game time whether Celebrini would play against the Flyers.
Monday morning, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky wouldn’t commit to playing Celebrini, saying at the time that the lineup for the game was still being finalized.
Warsofsky said the Sharks have separate plans for Celebrini and fellow teenage rookie Smith. Initially, it seemed both would get occasional ‘development days’ through at least the first half of the season. Perhaps Celebrini will get less of those days now than the 19-year-old Smith.
Smith has had four such days this season, including Sunday night when the Sharks beat the New Jersey Devils 1-0 behind goalie Mackenzie Blackwood’s 44-save performance.
Celebrini missed 12 games from Oct. 12 to Nov. 2 with a hip injury but has four points in the four games he has appeared in this season.
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The Sharks are now 2-2-1 with Celebrini in the lineup and 3-7-2 without him. Asked if Celebrini’s extended absence affected the Sharks’ original plan for him, Warsofsky did not wish to elaborate.
Michkov returned to Philadelphia’s lineup after being a scratch the last two games.
Michkov had two points Monday and now has 12 points in 14 games for the Flyers so far this year. He, Celebrini, and Smith are considered three of the leading candidates to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie this season. Michkov was selected seventh overall by the Flyers last year, three spots after the Sharks drafted Smith.
WALMAN STILL OUT: Defenseman Jake Walman missed his fourth straight game Monday and remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury he sustained in the Sharks’ Nov. 2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
Walman did not play in the Sharks’ game on Nov. 5 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was sat out for not coming in to get treatment on a day off, violating a team rule. Officially, he has missed the last three games because of the injury.
WHAT’S NEXT: The Sharks finish the road trip with games against the New York Rangers on Thursday and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.