Flyers at Sharks
THE STORY: After a brutal season-high nine-game road trip which spanned 16 days, the road-weary San Jose Sharks have finally returned home. San Jose limped to a 2-6-1 mark during that stretch, capped by a 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild which also saw coach Todd McLellan take an inadvertent stick to the face. McLellan will likely be behind the bench on Tuesday when the Philadelphia Flyers visit HP Pavilion.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TCN, CSCA
ABOUT THE FLYERS (34-20-7): Philadelphia improved to 2-1-0 on its current four-game road trip by rallying from a three-goal deficit to post a 5-4 win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday. Lost in the positive record is the team's woes while shorthanded. The Flyers have yielded goals on five of eight shorthanded situations during the road trip. Although Philadelphia acquired Ds Pavel Kubina and Nicklas Grossman last week, general manager Paul Holmgren did not make any moves at the NHL's trade deadline on Monday. "We like our team and we're quite comfortable coming out of it like we did, without doing anything more today," Holmgren said.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (32-22-7): San Jose acquired promising LWs Daniel Winnik and T.J. Galiardi from the Colorado Avalanche prior to Monday's trade deadline. In turn, Jamie McGinn and a pair of prospects were sent to the Rocky Mountains. The move should best benefit the Sharks on their penalty kill, which is ranked 28th in the NHL (77.4 percent) - a deficiency which was on display during the road trip. San Jose yielded nine power-play goals in 31 opportunities. As for the trade that got away, the Sharks offered G Antti Niemi to the Flyers for LW James van Riemsdyk. Philadelphia promptly declined the offer, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
OVERTIME:
1. Flyers LW Scott Hartnell has certainly upped the ante this season, matching his career high with 30 goals - including an NHL-best 15 power-play tallies. The All-Star had a goal and an assist in the teams' last meeting, a 5-4 overtime loss on Dec. 8, 2010.
2. San Jose LW Patrick Marleau actually fared well during his team's dismal road trip, collecting six goals and four assists. He was held off the scoresheet when the Sharks last faced the Flyers.