Sharks 3 - 2 Flyers
Final - 2OT
  for this game

Flyers host Sharks in matchup of disappointing clubs

Mar 28, 2015 - 12:43 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - A pair of teams with slim chances of making the playoffs meet Saturday afternoon in the City of Brotherly Love, as the Philadelphia Flyers welcome the San Jose Sharks.

The Flyers likely will miss the postseason for the second time in three years, as they enter Saturday nine points out of the Eastern Conference's last playoff spot with only seven games remaining.

San Jose, meanwhile, is 10 points out of the wild card race in the West and eight behind Los Angeles for the last of the Pacific Division's three playoff spots. The Sharks haven't missed the postseason since 2003.

The Sharks won for only the second time in six outings with Thursday's 6-4 win in Detroit. Patrick Marleau helped San Jose halt a two-game slide with two goals and an assist.

Logan Couture and Chris Tierney each finished with a goal and a helper, Marc- Edouard Vlasic and Matt Nieto also scored and Antti Niemi made 30 saves for the Sharks.

"On the offensive side, things were really good," said Marleau. "Defensively, obviously, there are things we can clean up, but we can't get picky right now. We'll take the two points."

The victory pushed San Jose's mark on a seven-game road trip to 2-3-0. The Sharks, who will end the swing tomorrow in Pittsburgh, are 19-14-3 as the road club this season.

The Flyers halted a four-game losing streak with Wednesday's 4-1 home win over Chicago. It marked only the third win of the month for Philly, which improved to 3-4-5 in March.

Wayne Simmonds, Ryan White, Claude Giroux and Michael Raffl scored once each for the Flyers, while Steve Mason turned away 34 pucks for the win.

"At this point winning feels good," Mason said. "However there is that sobering feeling of where we're at in the standings. Tonight was an effort that you look back on and you can be proud of the effort."

Philadelphia lost a pair of players for the remainder of the season in the win, as Simmonds and defenseman Andrew MacDonald both sustained fractures when blocking shots. Simmonds is leading the team with 28 goals, six more than Giroux.

The Flyers own a solid 21-9-6 mark at home this season. They will play their next two on the road before closing 2014-15 with a four-game stay at Wells Fargo Center.

San Jose has dominated Philadelphia over the years, winning 11 of the past 12 meetings in this series. The Sharks won their second straight in the matchup with a 2-1 home victory on Dec. 2.

The Flyers have lost six straight at home in this series since posting a tie on Nov. 21, 2002.






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